Call Me Crazy, But Using Tape Outputs For Subwoofer

[Beakman]

Here's one for you all - -
Had a few days r&r at home, so I decided to hook up the frankenstein sub again to see what it would do in the now larger environment.
By the book setup is Preamp out into Paridigm Sub Controler/ high bypass out of PSC to Behringer DEQ [then out to main amp], low output to sub amp.
This time, not wanting to use the rca/xlr converters needed for the conventional setup, I used the preamp's tape out to feed the full signal to the PSC, leaving the regular output alone and into the Behringer unmolested. The PSC just ouputs to the sub amp, no high pass used.
WOW!
A much more controlable sub and a lot more signal to deal with as far as having cohones.
During this setup session, the surround on the 12 ~15 year old Velodyne driver gave out so I replaced it with a Alpine car unit on sale at Sound Advise/Tweeter.
WOW! even better.
Eventually I dug out the proper wires, (I also had long wires so as to have the PSC at my listening position) and hooked up the sub in the aforementioned conventional way. And you know what? It sounded like cr*p. I tried all the tricks the knobs would let me, including turning the gain way down on the Behringer to balance the intergration but it still sounded like mud. Spent some time trying to get decent sound out of the system to no avail.
So I went back to using the tape outputs for the sub. Full signal to the main speakers, high volts full signal to the sub controler,which has a bandpass adjustment for the sub, and a wonderfull punchy concise bass all around. The only apparent drawback is that the tape out signal is at a constant level, so on volume changes with the system the sub volume has to be manually adjusted to match. Big deal!, I had to constantly change that per recording anyway using the conventional setup.
Any thoughts to as why the apparent quality of bass is produced this way? I realize I am now augmenting the lower octaves (~30-60Hz)from my Vantages instead of "replacing" them with the sub. If that's all there is to it, I recommend some of you whom are dissapointed in your sub's performans to try it.

 

[Tube60]

Well you did it in a way that by the book ought to be a disaster, but you've found it works! Nothing wrong with that! I'd say that if you listen to your system at a fairly constant volume level, I think that would be fine, at least for what you have. If your sub has it's own remote for level control, so much the better! Besides, the "conventional" way for your setup sounds awfully convoluted, so it's possible that the signal is being degraded in some way. Goes to show that the simplest approach is often the best one, even if it trumps conventional wisdom.

 

[Beakman]

More Sub-Magic

Well, the sub is still connected via the tape output setup as described above. What I have since done is place it in the right front corner with the DIY phase switch in reverse ( this is just a double-pole/double-throw switch connected between the sub's speaker terminals (post electronics) and the driver [normal/off/reverse]). Minor tweaking on the Paradigm controller with phase, band and of course level.
This seems to be doing a wonderful job with counteracting the majority of bass nodes produced by the vantage woofers or/and straight phase sub throughout the room. I also use the DEQ2496 parametric EQ module to cut down some problem child frequencies, in my case aroud 60 Hz and a wider spot around 400Hz (ML crossover mayhem?).
For those with dead simple subs without the fancy-pants electronics, try wiring the thing backwards at the driver and placing it far behind the speakers (seperate amp recommended, so it don't 'splodes yer good stuff).