Small subwoofer

[phil_cardiff]

Hi, looking to add a small sub to create a half decent 2.1 system. I've seen the Cambridge Audio Minx X200/1 but are there any other smaller subs out there? Budget under £300.

Thanks.

[anonymous-user]

Small subs only tend to work well with satellite speakers, if you have full range speakers, they are a bit of a waste of time. Having said that, I have a Cambridge Minx in my cupboard that’s barely used, if you’re interested, PM me.

[paralla]

I have one of these in my boiler cupboard in the kitchen to bolster the bottom end of a pair of ceiling speakers powered by a Sonos Connect Amp. Seems good and well within your budget.

It’s extremely small so isn’t going to raise the roof but it’s just what I was looking for.

https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/...

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/studio-subwoofer/fostex...

[phil_cardiff]

wormus said:

Small subs only tend to work well with satellite speakers, if you have full range speakers, they are a bit of a waste of time. Having said that, I have a Cambridge Minx in my cupboard that’s barely used, if you’re interested, PM me.

They'd be paired with something like Q a
Acoustics 2010i which lack a little low down.

I'll PM you for more details.

[phil_cardiff]

paralla said:

I have one of these in my boiler cupboard in the kitchen to bolster the bottom end of a pair of ceiling speakers powered by a Sonos Connect Amp. Seems good and well within your budget.

It’s extremely small so isn’t going to raise the roof but it’s just what I was looking for.

https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/...

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/studio-subwoofer/fostex...

Thanks, an interesting alternative.

How do you connect a sub? My amp has a sub out that looks like a standard RCA and most subs have twin RCAs in but sub cables seem to be single RCA to RCA.

[paralla]

phil_cardiff said:

paralla said:

I have one of these in my boiler cupboard in the kitchen to bolster the bottom end of a pair of ceiling speakers powered by a Sonos Connect Amp. Seems good and well within your budget.

It’s extremely small so isn’t going to raise the roof but it’s just what I was looking for.

https://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/products/...

https://www.bax-shop.co.uk/studio-subwoofer/fostex...

Thanks, an interesting alternative.

How do you connect a sub? My amp has a sub out that looks like a standard RCA and most subs have twin RCAs in but sub cables seem to be single RCA to RCA.

IBRA RCA Cable 0.5m, Y Cable/Subwoofer Cable/Audio Cable / 1 x RCA to 2 x RCA https://amzn.eu/d/0ArATOo

[darreni]

phil_cardiff said:

Hi, looking to add a small sub to create a half decent 2.1 system. I've seen the Cambridge Audio Minx X200/1 but are there any other smaller subs out there? Budget under £300.

Thanks.

Have a look at the BK subs. Something like the Gemini may suit.
I have the xls200 df, very compact & wife friendly & great performance.

[phil_cardiff]

darreni said:

phil_cardiff said:

Hi, looking to add a small sub to create a half decent 2.1 system. I've seen the Cambridge Audio Minx X200/1 but are there any other smaller subs out there? Budget under £300.

Thanks.

Have a look at the BK subs. Something like the Gemini may suit.
I have the xls200 df, very compact & wife friendly & great performance.

Thanks, will take a gander.

[Lucid_AV]

phil_cardiff said:

Thanks, an interesting alternative.

How do you connect a sub? My amp has a sub out that looks like a standard RCA and most subs have twin RCAs in but sub cables seem to be single RCA to RCA.

Have a closer look at the twin RCA sockets. One of them, usually the left but not always, will be marked MONO. This means a connection to this from the single sub out of an amp will be all that's required, hence the single RCA-to-RCA cables.

Simples.

[phil_cardiff]

Lucid_AV said:

phil_cardiff said:

Thanks, an interesting alternative.

How do you connect a sub? My amp has a sub out that looks like a standard RCA and most subs have twin RCAs in but sub cables seem to be single RCA to RCA.

Have a closer look at the twin RCA sockets. One of them, usually the left but not always, will be marked MONO. This means a connection to this from the single sub out of an amp will be all that's required, hence the single RCA-to-RCA cables.

Simples.

Ta. I did wonder why a sub needed a twin input when it's a single output. I'm sure there's a good reason but I'm not smart enough to work it out.

[phil_cardiff]

wormus said:

Small subs only tend to work well with satellite speakers, if you have full range speakers, they are a bit of a waste of time. Having said that, I have a Cambridge Minx in my cupboard that’s barely used, if you’re interested, PM me.

PM sent.

[Lucid_AV]

phil_cardiff said:

Ta. I did wonder why a sub needed a twin input when it's a single output. I'm sure there's a good reason but I'm not smart enough to work it out.

The reason is for folk with stereo Hi-Fi amps that include pre-out connections. It's the sort of connection that might be used to hook up an external power amp to get more juice into stereo speakers, or.... hook up a sub that has stereo RCA input sockets.

You see, he single subwoofer out RCA is a mono signal. A circuit within the amp puts the left and right channels together in a way that doesn't introduce the signal cancellation problems you'd get by trying to do this running a mono-to-stereo splitter in reverse. But a lot of older stereo amps don't have this, but they might have stereo pre-out sockets, so those can be used instead.

Incidentally, the signal from the pre-out sockets tracks the volume control. It sounds obvious to say then that the sub changes volume along with the main speakers. However, there are a lot of folk who think they can use the Record Out sockets from the tape loop / minidisc / CDR connection. The signal from that is at a fixed level. It doesn't track the volume control.

[phil_cardiff]

Lucid_AV said:

phil_cardiff said:

Ta. I did wonder why a sub needed a twin input when it's a single output. I'm sure there's a good reason but I'm not smart enough to work it out.

The reason is for folk with stereo Hi-Fi amps that include pre-out connections. It's the sort of connection that might be used to hook up an external power amp to get more juice into stereo speakers, or.... hook up a sub that has stereo RCA input sockets.

You see, he single subwoofer out RCA is a mono signal. A circuit within the amp puts the left and right channels together in a way that doesn't introduce the signal cancellation problems you'd get by trying to do this running a mono-to-stereo splitter in reverse. But a lot of older stereo amps don't have this, but they might have stereo pre-out sockets, so those can be used instead.

Incidentally, the signal from the pre-out sockets tracks the volume control. It sounds obvious to say then that the sub changes volume along with the main speakers. However, there are a lot of folk who think they can use the Record Out sockets from the tape loop / minidisc / CDR connection. The signal from that is at a fixed level. It doesn't track the volume control.

Informative, thank you.

[anonymous-user]

phil_cardiff said:

They'd be paired with something like Q a
Acoustics 2010i which lack a little low down.

I'll PM you for more details.

Replied

[un1eash]

If you have the space go for a proper sized sub, BK Elec are very good for the price. The Gemini has been replaced by the P10-150-Gem.

[TX1]

Another vote for BK if you have the space, have had a BK XLS200-DF since 2014 and it has been excellent.

[phil_cardiff]

I'm measuring up. But I think any dimension over 30cm will be an issue.

[stevemcs]

TX1 said:

Another vote for BK if you have the space, have had a BK XLS200-DF since 2014 and it has been excellent.

Same here, it doubles as a lamp stand.

[PT1984]

stevemcs said:

TX1 said:

Another vote for BK if you have the space, have had a BK XLS200-DF since 2014 and it has been excellent.

Same here, it doubles as a lamp stand.

This and this! For even better value check out their eBay store for seconds. That’s what I purchased and couldn’t find a thing wrong with it. Meant to be cosmetic seconds, but there was nothing.

For a small room you won’t need any more. It’s incredibly accurate and digs pretty deep. They sent me a graph, and the lower you have the crossover the lower it goes.

If it’s too big then get the Gem.

[phil_cardiff]

Everything BK sells is too big.