What is the norm? How many of you use the subsonic filter with your turntable?


I am trying to figure out the norm. If you own a turntable, do you use the subsonic filter on your phono preamp to keep from woofer excursion? 

dman777

I asked Ron Sutherland if my KC Vibe had any type of rumble filter and his response was

" no subsonic filter.   to add would require another stage of amplification to get a steep cut off.     didn't want to add that complexity to the signal path."

I had no rumble, was just curious if the unit employed it.  

 

My preamp has one but I never use it. At one time I had some feedback and woofer pumping when I had dual 15" subwoofers, the filter didn't help at all. But moving the turntable took care of the issue. Most of the time location of the table and/or speakers will fix things.

I have a Hegel V10 phonstage which includes the filter but they are neutral about using it; and my dealer told me at the outset that he never found a need to use it. In the 3 months or so that I've own it I've left it off and haven't run into excursion to necessitate employing it. 

It depends.  That can drain a lot of amp power and can result in clipping and speaker damage  but if not going too loud and noise generated is not a concern the filter may not be necessary.  Best to address the issue at the source and minimize it to extent possible. 

My phono preamp doesn't have one. I guess I've been lucky as I never have significant woofer excursion on my 10" sub or the 6.5" mid-bass drivers. I am even using a DD table in fairly close proximity to my speakers. Maybe it's the concrete floor that helps. Perhaps you're experiencing some tonearm/cartridge compliance issues.