Integrating subs is difficult, but if you get it right you're not going to believe how wide, deep and tall the soudstage will be!
Three things come to mind:
1) use a proper *stereo* electronic crossover. There are NO compromises allowed here. Driving monitors full range is a bad idea and defeats one of the main advantages of a sat/sub setup: liberating the mini monitor's woofer from deep bass.
2) make sure the woofer and subwoofer materials have similar sounds. Snap the cones w/ your fingers and find out if the sound is alike.
3) set the subs somewhere along an arc intersecting the monitors and extending no more than 30 degrees to the outsides of the monitors. The subs could sound better inside the monitors or outside, depending on room acoustics.
If you cannot ( or are unwilling to ) do the above stick to 'full range' speakers. It took me years before I could do this move, but now that I did it there's no turning back.
I bought a Marchand X9 Deluxe electronic crossover w/ Cardas RCA's and had Dan Wright modify the power supply and send the boards to cryo treatment. This was done to follow a Channel Islands passive pre-amp and get the clarity of a passive pre and the dynamics and constant output impedance an active pre-amp can deliver. The electronic crossover drives four monoblock amps: 30W class A Marantz Ma-5 Esotec for the mini monitors and 125W Kenwood L-07M high current amps for the subs. Speakers are Dan Wright modded Swans M-1 mini monitors and NHT SW2-Si subs.
Like I said, it took me years to get here--but there's no turning back.
With psychic power and primal intensity,
Three things come to mind:
1) use a proper *stereo* electronic crossover. There are NO compromises allowed here. Driving monitors full range is a bad idea and defeats one of the main advantages of a sat/sub setup: liberating the mini monitor's woofer from deep bass.
2) make sure the woofer and subwoofer materials have similar sounds. Snap the cones w/ your fingers and find out if the sound is alike.
3) set the subs somewhere along an arc intersecting the monitors and extending no more than 30 degrees to the outsides of the monitors. The subs could sound better inside the monitors or outside, depending on room acoustics.
If you cannot ( or are unwilling to ) do the above stick to 'full range' speakers. It took me years before I could do this move, but now that I did it there's no turning back.
I bought a Marchand X9 Deluxe electronic crossover w/ Cardas RCA's and had Dan Wright modify the power supply and send the boards to cryo treatment. This was done to follow a Channel Islands passive pre-amp and get the clarity of a passive pre and the dynamics and constant output impedance an active pre-amp can deliver. The electronic crossover drives four monoblock amps: 30W class A Marantz Ma-5 Esotec for the mini monitors and 125W Kenwood L-07M high current amps for the subs. Speakers are Dan Wright modded Swans M-1 mini monitors and NHT SW2-Si subs.
Like I said, it took me years to get here--but there's no turning back.
With psychic power and primal intensity,