Thinking of adding a subwoofer for more bass.


I am running a cayin A50 amplifier with vandersteen 1 speakers and want more bass. I am wondering if a subwoofer will do it for me or is the problem that the signal from the amplifier not sending enough bass to the speakers? The vandersteen's have an 8" woofer.

Thanks for your help!
marntz4me
Get a decent sub and see how you like it. It is definately worth testing. A good subs can be had for under $500 as well, such as ones from Hsu or SVS. Experimenting is a good thing.
Bob,

Glad you approve of the advice, but it's usually an excersize in frustration! Utilizing PEQ below 200hz is the only effective method I've found to consistently and EFFECTIVELY "tweak away" the bass response issues that Marantz describes. There may be other approaches, but I couldn't find one for my room. Some folks get lucky with room/speaker mating but others (like me) are stuck with hostile environments.

Marty
In reply to your comments I am reading the 37 Hz right off the specifications. My main concern was that if the output of my system was not generating the low frequency the sub woofer would not make enough difference. I guess I will have to experiment. I have been looking at the HSU units, and they have gotten great reviews.

One other solution I have thought of is tube rolling. I have heard the Svetlana winged C's are really great tubes and they should be an improvement over the stock Cayins. FYI I play records and CDs. Hate compressed music. Most likely I am going to try the woofer first because I wasn't not too-impressed when I changed out my speaker cables.

Thanks for your help!
Marntz, the spec you are reading usually states the anechoic frequency
response. This is measured with no reflected energy - basically in a room
without walls. Most listening rooms, however, actually have walls and those
wall create reflections.

In my room, there is a large (+/- 15db peak) rise between 100hz and 130hz.
There are significant but narrow nulls at 80hz and 50hz and a broader null
below 35 hz. The net effect is that the published specs rarely correlate to
what I hear in the bass region. I've only had 2 speakers in this room that
provided decent response to 35ish hz - the Merlin VSM and the Ohm 100.
The Verity Parsifal Encore, which provided solid response to 32hz in my last
home, won't get below 38hz in this one. That is not a giant difference, but
coupled with other room related bass effects, the Verity sounds thicker and
slower with less real deep bass than it should.

IMHO, the greatest advantage of modern subs is that they allow you to
address these issues with room analysis and EQ. You can essentially
"fix" the room. Some people will reject the whole idea because
you are "creating" the sound rather than listening to sound which
the speaker manufacturer intended you to hear. However, if your room
sucks......

Marty

PS I noted the exception to the best bass extention at 38hz in my earlier post
to this thread. The subs go flat to 25Hz.
Thanks for that last repsonse Marty, I think I am going to go with a 8" to 10" subwoofer and try it out. If it doesn't work I will just send it back. As far as the equilization is concerned, I am going to set it up to my listening preferences.

Thanks!