Discussion
Has anyone used a mono sub amp in their AV setup?
I have a subwoofer that used to be in my GTR that I now have no car audio use for but I don't want to see the sub so thought it would be nice to use it as part of my AV system. I can build a nice looking enclosure for it but I don't think my AV amp will be able to drive it directly so was thinking of using a Mono amp to do so and am looking for advice.
I have a subwoofer that used to be in my GTR that I now have no car audio use for but I don't want to see the sub so thought it would be nice to use it as part of my AV system. I can build a nice looking enclosure for it but I don't think my AV amp will be able to drive it directly so was thinking of using a Mono amp to do so and am looking for advice.
Plate amp may be what you re looking for. Build it in to the side of the sub enclosure.
Usually have controls for gain and phase so you can tune it to work with the rest of the system.
One of my mates has built a few subs using BK Electronics plate amps, uk made and great value, and they can modify them to suit different crossover point etc.
https://www.bkelec.com/MODULES/TC_Amp.html
Usually have controls for gain and phase so you can tune it to work with the rest of the system.
One of my mates has built a few subs using BK Electronics plate amps, uk made and great value, and they can modify them to suit different crossover point etc.
https://www.bkelec.com/MODULES/TC_Amp.html
Edited by lufbramatt on Monday 12th October 20:09
simon_harris said:
I don't think my AV amp will be able to drive it directly so was thinking of using a Mono amp to do so and am looking for advice.
A bit of background first: If you buy a proper home cinema sub it will generally have three or four controls on the back. There'll be twiddly knobs for level (volume), crossover (the adjustable frequency where the sub rolls off to blend with some speakers), and maybe adjustable phase, or that could be just on a switch; 0-180 degree. You might also have a switch to set whether the sub goes into standby if there's no signal, or if it stays on all the time. With the exception of the On/Standby, any decent AVR will take care of the rest of the settings. This means that if you run some kind of mono power amp such as the Fosi V3 Mono, the AVR will determine the crossover frequencies, level, and phase for you. This is done with the microphone on that long wire (yes, you're going to have to go in the loft and dig that out..... Ooh, spiders).
The only potential issue is if the power amp input sensitivity makes the signal to the sub too loud or too quiet and the AVR runs out of adjustment range to blend the sub with the rest of the speakers. It's unlikely, but we can't say never. That's why mail order returns exist. Amazon is your friend.
Panamax said:
I think you'd be better off buying an inexpensive, domestic subwoofer with built-in amplification. Car stuff usually lags a long way behind domestic IMO. The volume of air in your car is radically different from the volume of air in your living room.
A speaker is just a panel that vibrates to move air, even more so when it is for low frequencies.I could just buy something off the shelf, but where is the fun in that? Back in the day when i was really into car audio and it was a huge scene I was the first person to build and mount a spherical sub enclosure into a car - and I am talking a perfect sphere. The sub I used then was a Phase Linear Aliante 12 which had a wattage rating of around 350wrms iIrc, it had a bigger brother the phase linear Aliante 12 ltd which supposedly had no limit on the amount of clean power it could take and was priced around a grand/grand and a half.
fast forward a decade or so and I bought my R35 GTR and decided I wanted to upgrade the BOSE speakers I was able to source the ltd - in its original wooden case no less. so that got fitted and served me well in that car for many years, well the car is gone but the speaker remains and rather than see it sitting in the garage I'd like to use it so here we are.
Edited by simon_harris on Tuesday 13th October 14:03
simon_harris said:
A speaker is just a panel that vibrates to move air, even more so when it is for low frequencies.
And all digital equipment sounds exactly the same.However, your "where's the fun in that" is IMO the best justification for attempting this project.
I once tried building an enclosure for some some surplus domestic speakers in a car. Things didn't go well in the sound department. I suppose it was fun trying the project but I learnt a life lesson right there.
the Aliante works really well in a small (~25l) sealed enclosure and gives a tight controlled response so for a home sub it should work well enough and if not it will look pretty (to my eyes) in the corner of the room.
Back in the day I built loads of different enclosure tyres, sealed, vented, horn loaded, a folded transmission line (used a form and high density expanding foam to create that one) so I am not new to playing with Audio, just home stuff this time.
Back in the day I built loads of different enclosure tyres, sealed, vented, horn loaded, a folded transmission line (used a form and high density expanding foam to create that one) so I am not new to playing with Audio, just home stuff this time.
the PL alliantes were very well regarded.
i have a fosi 2.1 amp that i got from Aliexpress for much less than what people were offering in the UK.
not sure about the one linked but the one i have runs fairly hot and lives clamped between two pieces of aluminium now.
this is driving a pair of cambridge audio bookshelf speakers and a Oz Audio 2x 10'' car sub, im fairly happy overall, obviously at home you cant make everything wobble like in a car.
car sub was a DD 9512 and around 1500W so i do love bass.
please post a pic of your enclosure if you make it.
i have a fosi 2.1 amp that i got from Aliexpress for much less than what people were offering in the UK.
not sure about the one linked but the one i have runs fairly hot and lives clamped between two pieces of aluminium now.
this is driving a pair of cambridge audio bookshelf speakers and a Oz Audio 2x 10'' car sub, im fairly happy overall, obviously at home you cant make everything wobble like in a car.
car sub was a DD 9512 and around 1500W so i do love bass.
please post a pic of your enclosure if you make it.
I remember the DD subs well - I don't suppose you frequented talkaudio.co.uk back in the day did you?
The AVR is a Denon AVR-X2300w so won't drive the sub from the main outputs so I will need some kind of Sub amp.
I've got a list of project to complete so it will be while before I do anything with the sub.
The AVR is a Denon AVR-X2300w so won't drive the sub from the main outputs so I will need some kind of Sub amp.
I've got a list of project to complete so it will be while before I do anything with the sub.
simon_harris said:
I rather think you have entirely missed the point of this thread. If I was just going to buy a sub then I d buy a dedicated home theatre sub for the purpose, this is about using something I have and have no other use for.
Just give it a try, its fun to experiment Let us know how you get on
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