Subwoofer Crossover Replacement for Wilson WHOW?


Recently, I upgraded my system with super high-end power cords and AC line conditioners. (My system: Jadis JA80 tube monoblocks driving the Watt2/Puppy; and Krell KMA 160 amp driving the Wilson WHOW subwoofer) With increased resolution, I became aware that the low end of the spectrum is not as quick, detailed, or transparent as the rest of the spectrum. I concluded that perhaps Krell's 160 watts are insufficient for the WHOW. In communicating with a couple of WHOW owners, I learned that they solved their WHOW problem primarily by replacing the Wilson crossover with one that comes only with balanced inputs and outputs. Since my front end does not have balanced outputs and my amps don't have balanced inputs, I'm looking for an excellent subwoofer with RCA inputs and outputs. Any help will be greatly appreciated.
puremusic
Nsgarch, this is not the place to promote your business. If the rest of us can abide by the posting rules, so can you.
Correction: One of the two WHOW owners referred to in my post informed me by email that the crossover he replaced Wilson's by has both RCA and Balanced inputs and outputs. It's the Krell KBX. So, if I can find it on the used market, that would definitely be a candidate for my short list of crossovers to audition.

Nsgarch: Although I am initially looking for a replacement for my crossover, I am also looking at the different alternatives for a higher powered amp. In fact, both of the WHOW owners reffered to in my post also obtained high powered amps. The Bryston 7B SST, Parasound Halo JC1, and the Crown K2 have been recommended by different people for my short list.

Rbes: My new dedicated listening room is 23.6"x20.8"x8.9". So, more power will help. Even with three 20 amp, dedicated AC lines coming into the listening room, the new power cords and AC line conditioners made a big difference. The subwoofer is on it's own dedicated line, as is the front end. The Jadis amps are on the third dedicated line. The cords and conditioners, of course, are not in the signal path. With them in place, the sonics are much cleaner, the noise floor is much lower. Consequently, there is now greater clarity, transparency, and discernible detail. The harmonic texture, nuance and delicacy of music is now more apparent. In short, I am now happier with the overall resolution, musicality and involement. The weak link is in the bass. At this point, I'm open to any and all suggestions for my short list: passive or active. In the end, auditioning by the ear/mind/heart will decide which combination of the candidates on my amp and crossover short lists is most satisfying to me musically and emotionally.

Best Regards,
John
Essentialaudio, I have no idea what you're talking about. The ad I referred to is not my ad and I mentioned it only to illustrate the kind of amp another person found satisfactory, that's all. Perhaps I should've edited out his identity, is that what you mean?

Puremusic, the reason I mentioned Bryston, is that new or used, they offer a lot of clean reliable (20 yr warranty) power for the buck -- especially in low frequency apps. I just thought that before you try other remedies, it would be easy to swap the amp you're using for a higher powered one. It doesn't even have to be what you would buy, an old SAE would do. That's a big woofer in the WHOW, and to get clean bass, it needs really good damping control, and that's one thing a high powered SS amp gives you. Even at low volumes, an amplifier is called upon to provide power peaks at each end of the cone travel in order to maintain good control over the cone when its direction of travel reverses.

In your post you said the bass was not as "quick, detailed, or transparent as the rest of the spectrum." So if everything else about it is alright (volume, freq. response, blending with the main speaker, etc.) then I'd put my money on the power issue and look to the amplifier first -- plus it's an easy thing to check without a lot of fuss. Just give it a 400W amp and see what happens, you can't hurt anything.
Nsgarch,

I plan to experiment with other amps and crossovers. My current short list for crossovers consists of Bryston 10B (SUB version) and the Krell KBX. And my current short list for subwoofer amps consists of Aragon Palladium, Parasound Halo JC1, Bryston 7B SST or 7B ST, and the Crown K2. If anyone has heard any of this components driving a subwoofer, I would greatly appreciate your observations. Any other candidates I should consider?

Thank You,
John
John, I used a Bryston 10B when my system was bi-amped. A very quiet and versatile unit, I can't recommend it highly enough. See if you can get one used, because like all Bryston equipment, it carries a transferrable 20 yr warranty. As for the amp, the bigger the better watts-wise, but you don't really need something with oustanding sonics across the frequency spectrum, so some of your choices (IMO) represent unnecessary capability you're gonna pay extra dollars for.