Recommend Subwoofer for old Tannoy Mercury M1 Speakers
Discussion
The Sony amp doesn't have a dedicated subwoofer socket (a single RCA phono), so you're going to have to choose a sub that can pick up its signal from the speaker terminals instead. That's not a problem, it won't change the load that the amp sees; there's a trick to this that the sub uses a very high impedance connection and so draws almost zero current from the amp. This means that as far as speaker loads go, the sub is invisible to the amp. It gets a signal without making the amp work any harder.
Any subwoofer with just an RCA phono subwoofer signal connection is out of the running. What you're looking for instead is either something with speaker terminals or with a Neutrik connector. If you haven't come across Neutrik connectors before they're from the professional audio field. They're a way of making several wire connections in a single sturdy plug.
The BK Gemini II sub in this web page uses a Neutrik connector. It's the black socket with concentric circles. http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/sub_woofers/gemini.htm
The alternative speaker-level (A.K.A. High Level / Hi-Level) connection is via regular looking screw-down/banana-type plug terminals same as your Tannoy Mercury M1s have. Here's a Wharfedale SW150 sub with speaker terminal connections: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61XQgHrNxkL._A... It does the same job, it's just slightly messier.
Aside from price considerations, probably the two key considerations with subs are the choice between sealed and bass ported, and how much power is needed.
For music, (and all other things being equal), a sealed sub reacts faster and follows the music better. Ported subs go louder from fewer watts from the sub's built-in amp, but the bass won't react as fast. Ported subs are good for movies, but it takes quite a bit of money to make a ported sub that's good for music too.
How deep a sub goes is more about the driver size and design than whether it's ported or sealed. Here, quality counts. Both the Wharfedale and the BK Gemini I linked to above have 10" drivers. The Gemini is physically a smaller box, and it's sealed to, so intuition would suggest that the bigger and ported Wharfedale would dig deeper in bass response, but that's not the case. Although BK don't publish frequency specs for it, there are plenty of users who report that the Gemini goes deeper. Quality counts.
BK's own XLS200 is virtually the same size as the Gemini II. But it has a more powerful amp and a better quality driver. As a result it digs deeper again and also goes louder too. Once gain, quality counts.
Any of the three subs listed above will meet your requirements for a way to connect, and they'll all add useful bass extension to those Mercuries equal to- or better than- going for the floorstanders in the same range. How much bass you need/want/can get will be determined by the size of the room and the size of your wallet. A 1ft cube such as the Geminii II will do for a small living room or small/medium sized office. As good as it is though, it will struggle to pressurise a larger space or open plan room, so if your office is the whole of the loft area converted then you'll need something more potent.
Any subwoofer with just an RCA phono subwoofer signal connection is out of the running. What you're looking for instead is either something with speaker terminals or with a Neutrik connector. If you haven't come across Neutrik connectors before they're from the professional audio field. They're a way of making several wire connections in a single sturdy plug.
The BK Gemini II sub in this web page uses a Neutrik connector. It's the black socket with concentric circles. http://www.bkelec.com/hifi/sub_woofers/gemini.htm
The alternative speaker-level (A.K.A. High Level / Hi-Level) connection is via regular looking screw-down/banana-type plug terminals same as your Tannoy Mercury M1s have. Here's a Wharfedale SW150 sub with speaker terminal connections: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61XQgHrNxkL._A... It does the same job, it's just slightly messier.
Aside from price considerations, probably the two key considerations with subs are the choice between sealed and bass ported, and how much power is needed.
For music, (and all other things being equal), a sealed sub reacts faster and follows the music better. Ported subs go louder from fewer watts from the sub's built-in amp, but the bass won't react as fast. Ported subs are good for movies, but it takes quite a bit of money to make a ported sub that's good for music too.
How deep a sub goes is more about the driver size and design than whether it's ported or sealed. Here, quality counts. Both the Wharfedale and the BK Gemini I linked to above have 10" drivers. The Gemini is physically a smaller box, and it's sealed to, so intuition would suggest that the bigger and ported Wharfedale would dig deeper in bass response, but that's not the case. Although BK don't publish frequency specs for it, there are plenty of users who report that the Gemini goes deeper. Quality counts.
BK's own XLS200 is virtually the same size as the Gemini II. But it has a more powerful amp and a better quality driver. As a result it digs deeper again and also goes louder too. Once gain, quality counts.
Any of the three subs listed above will meet your requirements for a way to connect, and they'll all add useful bass extension to those Mercuries equal to- or better than- going for the floorstanders in the same range. How much bass you need/want/can get will be determined by the size of the room and the size of your wallet. A 1ft cube such as the Geminii II will do for a small living room or small/medium sized office. As good as it is though, it will struggle to pressurise a larger space or open plan room, so if your office is the whole of the loft area converted then you'll need something more potent.
Edited by Lucid_AV on Wednesday 8th September 13:24
Came here to suggest BK also...
I've a gemini 2 in a smaller room which is a decent little box and definately adds some depth and punch - I picked mine up for £100 secondhand. If you can stretch a bit further (and have the space) however then a BK monolith is in a different league and really is (for me) all the sub you could ever need! To me the size isn't really a problem as it looks like a piece of furniture if you go for the DF model where the woofer is on the bottom out of sight. Avaialble secondhand for about £300ish or just under £600 new, direct from BK.
I've a gemini 2 in a smaller room which is a decent little box and definately adds some depth and punch - I picked mine up for £100 secondhand. If you can stretch a bit further (and have the space) however then a BK monolith is in a different league and really is (for me) all the sub you could ever need! To me the size isn't really a problem as it looks like a piece of furniture if you go for the DF model where the woofer is on the bottom out of sight. Avaialble secondhand for about £300ish or just under £600 new, direct from BK.
Also consider SVS's little SB-1000pro.
It has Speaker through-puts as well and the added advantage of a little bluetooth app for set up.
So you can sit in your main seating position and customise the settings to your taste and requirements. The app also allows you to have different profiles for say Music/Movies and Day/Night if you need to suppress the bass when kids are sleeping.
Retail is £549, but deals can be had if you know who to ask.
PM me if you want more specific details
It has Speaker through-puts as well and the added advantage of a little bluetooth app for set up.
So you can sit in your main seating position and customise the settings to your taste and requirements. The app also allows you to have different profiles for say Music/Movies and Day/Night if you need to suppress the bass when kids are sleeping.
Retail is £549, but deals can be had if you know who to ask.
PM me if you want more specific details
paul.deitch said:
Brilliant, thank you so much for so much information!
My office is about 4.5m x 4.5m x 2.6m so I guess that those units would be powerful enough.
If I was to move the subwoofer to the lounge 10m x 5.8. x 2.6m would it be "powerful" enough for "normal" listening.
Your lounge is large. The single-driver 10" subs would be out of their depth. You'll need something far more potent. The deal with subs is that you can always turn the level down on a big sub to suit a smaller room, but you can't just run a small sub harder to fill a room that's too big. My office is about 4.5m x 4.5m x 2.6m so I guess that those units would be powerful enough.
If I was to move the subwoofer to the lounge 10m x 5.8. x 2.6m would it be "powerful" enough for "normal" listening.
SVS, BK, REL, MJ Acoustics, Velodyne - these and a few others are (or started out as) specialist sub brands. Interestingly, REL and MJ had their subs built for them at the BK factory.
Price is no guarantee of performance, but as you get past the £500 mark then you're heading towards a point where ported is getting fast enough to be good for music. A potent sealed sub though will still have an advantage. Close-in on £1000 and the differences are minimal. I've been running a REL Stadium II for years. The headline spec makes something like the XLS200 seem more powerful since the REL has just a 100W RMS amp, but the rating is very conservative. This ported 10" REL does music and movies brilliantly, and second-hand prices are still north of £500. Quality counts.
The SVS-SB1000 Pro is a decent shout. They make good subs, and some flippin' huge ones too. I'd also consider the BK Monolith+. Both are really good subs in their price category.
I had a similar scenario over the past 18 months in that I was spending more time in my home office (12ft x 9ft) and not being able to listen to my main system in my living room (children home, partner home working too).
So, I decided to put together an office system for everyday / all day listening as well as for 'loud' listening when circumstances allow....
Since my room has modest dimensions I was focusing on a decent stand-mount speakers. After demoing a few new (but run in) speakers I settled on a pair of used (but immaculate) B&W PM1s.
I was pretty happy with these in my office but I was still really looking for more of a sonic punch. Maybe a Sub could be the answer?
I decided on a REL T5x sub which has really opened up the sound in my office. No boom, just solid, controlled bass. It means that I can enjoy 'full range audio' that I think would've been impossible without the sub.
I didn't bother demoing subs as I'd used my energies on the standmounts. I just went on the reviews and chose a Sub that appealed to way I like to listen to music.
Overall, I think the OP in on the right track in order to get a better sound. I can't comment on other Subs because I've not heard them or spent hours reading about them.
So, I decided to put together an office system for everyday / all day listening as well as for 'loud' listening when circumstances allow....
Since my room has modest dimensions I was focusing on a decent stand-mount speakers. After demoing a few new (but run in) speakers I settled on a pair of used (but immaculate) B&W PM1s.
I was pretty happy with these in my office but I was still really looking for more of a sonic punch. Maybe a Sub could be the answer?
I decided on a REL T5x sub which has really opened up the sound in my office. No boom, just solid, controlled bass. It means that I can enjoy 'full range audio' that I think would've been impossible without the sub.
I didn't bother demoing subs as I'd used my energies on the standmounts. I just went on the reviews and chose a Sub that appealed to way I like to listen to music.
Overall, I think the OP in on the right track in order to get a better sound. I can't comment on other Subs because I've not heard them or spent hours reading about them.
I use a Rel T Zero sub with my little Anthony Gallo micro speakers and it does a pretty decent job ...won't go super deep and low but depends on what you need and type of music...( i've got 5.1 system with a bigger sub for film duties)
Here's an example..(not my ad)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353657083707?hash=item5...
Here's an example..(not my ad)
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353657083707?hash=item5...
Well I got a Gemini2. I don't think that I have it set up perfectly yet, as although it's OK I haven't been "wowed" by the difference in sound in my office. And as somebody suggested it was a bit lost in my big lounge.
The real test will be Halloween when I will stick it outside to beef up the thunder sound and lightning effects to scare the visiting kids.
BTW BK electronics were really helpful. Hats off to "Tom"
The real test will be Halloween when I will stick it outside to beef up the thunder sound and lightning effects to scare the visiting kids.
BTW BK electronics were really helpful. Hats off to "Tom"
Yeah you may be expecting a bit too much to be wowed by it if it's a big space but it certainly should make a noticeable difference. Do have a play with the phase control as although the difference is subtle, it can make all the difference between a slightly muddy sound to something, well, more in phase! Set the gain so that the sound from the sub doesn't dominate, and then adjust the crossover so it blends with your existing speakers.
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