Separate subwoofer to replace SL3 woofer ?

[malcesine]

Noob question so apologies in advance!

Can I disconnect my SL3 woofer and use a subwoofer instead ?
Goal is to improve bass response by being able to position sub in a better location in my room.

How do I handle crossover ? Do I just need a sub that has a response of more than
250hz?

Any thoughts and suggestions welcome!

Thanks, alan

 

[guido]

I would not recommend "replacing" your SL3s woofers. However, you may consider supplementing them with a good sub. I use a REL T1, which integrates well with my SL3s. I highly recommend something like the DSPeaker Anti Mode Dual Core to "improve" bass response, i.e., to correct for room modes. With this setup, I have been surprised to find that the SL3s actually need very little bass augmentation. My REL is crossed over at only 30Hz and its gain is set at only the fourth notch (of 40).

Best luck!

Guido F.

 

[Tosh]

I would not aim to 'replace' the SL3's woofer with a sub, as it needs to play along well with the ESL way beyond 500Hz. As the stock passive bass XO point is ~250Hz, but at a fairly shallow 12dB/oct, the woofer is only down 24dB at 1kHz.

Which woofers are in your SL3, Alan? (I'm guessing it's the original poly cone, stamped steel basket type?) What is it about the bass response that you're not happy about? When I switched to an amplifier with a much larger PS for my SL3 (with the later paper cone Vifa woofer), bass control improved a lot (deeper, tighter, less wooly), making me suspect that aside from the driver itself, the flimsy cabinet and inductor coil were the remaining limitations. But now that I have gone active XO on only the bass, I don't think a sub is needed at all in my medium-sized room...