my ht options

[meistah 0]

i posted about this on another forum, but didnt get much help..however i have more ideas about it now...

i got a set of computer speakers (edifier s5.1) i find the speakers themselves to be more than adequate, and the sub is very musical, however the subwoofer is very lacking in volume and spl, and i believe due to its tuning sounds horrible on certain notes, so i want to improve on it in the most inexpensive way i can...

i was thinking i could build a sub in a box with a plate amp, and hook it right up to the sub input on the sound card, then just have the edifiers go to the rest of the inputs..which i know is very ghetto but i think it would do what i want it to do...

my other thought was to just get rid of the edifier system and go with the sub/plate amp and new speakers...i have 2 focal ca130 coaxial speakers which are awesome, but im not sure what id do for power/control of them...i dont really need surround sound so ultimately 2 speakers and a bigass sub are just fine for me..

any way i cut it im going to want a new sub and amp...as i really like mach5s stuff i was thinking of going with one of their subs and the 300w plate amp on their site...thought it would be really awesome to do an 18" with that amp...but im worried that while it will be powerful, it wont be tight and musical enough, as ive never heard an 18" sub before...i know their 12 would be fine in a sealed box, so i might go with one of those...im very open to suggestions

[///M5 2,833]

Holy punctuation, I can't read that she-i.

You need some decent near field monitors and a reasonable sub. Get the PE special edition catalog and build this months project, it will do more than what you need for not much dough.

[meistah 0]

haha, sorry. i was bored when i was typing it so i wasnt paying attention to my punctuation or grammar.

Im not sure where i find that catalog on their site. Only one i found was the normal one, didnt see any "special edition" one

[JimJ 11]

How much room do you have? One of those floorstanding transmission lines would be jaw-dropping with a 15", and the design work has already been done

As for power, I'd recommend either going with vintage stuff or seperate power amps/preamps. With two channels, it's easy to get some good equipment, vs. home theater where you're forced to make compromises because of the number of channels involved. Do you have a budget for the electronics you'll need?

I'd much rather use those Focals than a set of computer speakers...

[JimJ 11]

Some equipment ideas...

Power amp: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?amp...&1176738971

Preamp: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?pre...&1177711629

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?pre...&1177722483

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?pre...&1177475169 (heckuva good price on a Rotel like that)

Don't forget good reliable surge suppression

[///M5 2,833]

Wow. From the OP i thought you wanted a computer system. Is this for home theatre or the pc? There is a little cheap passive radiator system in their specials catalog, but if this is for HT that won't go low enough.

[mrray13 30]

the OP made mention of using his sound card, so i'm assuming it's for his pc?

that 8" setup in the pe catalog would indeed be very cost effective and provide the output he's wanting for his computer. is there an online way for him to get the build?

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[meistah 0]

yeah..the speakers will be hooked up to my pc..but my pc pretty much is my ht setup right now.

As for budget? dont really wanna spend anything over 300, just trying to get some harder hitting and more powerful bass in my room. i figured i should be able to swing it with that budget if i bought a plate amp, sub and something to power the focals with and just build boxes for all of the stuff.

I dont have a ton of space so im not looking to do anything extravagent, just something simple and straightforward with alot of tight, accurate, and hard hitting bass

[JimJ 11]

OK, given $300...

http://www.apexjr.com/ApexJunior.htm - $89.95

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=295-550 - $64.90

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAD-Model-140-Receiver...1QQcmdZViewItem

Got enough left over to buy some MDF and a six pack for the first listening session

[IamDeMan 0]

OK, given $300...

http://www.apexjr.com/ApexJunior.htm - $89.95

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=295-550 - $64.90

http://cgi.ebay.com/NAD-Model-140-Receiver...1QQcmdZViewItem

Got enough left over to buy some MDF and a six pack for the first listening session

Six pack?

Listening session have to be with a frigidly chilly dirty martini. Shaken, not stirred.

[JimJ 11]

Scotch on the rocks would be my choice, but that wouldn't fit in his budget very well

[IamDeMan 0]

Scotch on the rocks would be my choice, but that wouldn't fit in his budget very well

No, not if he wants a REAL scotch anyways lol.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

If you were to go the Mach5 route, I can attest for the MJ-18 as I have one sealed. I had a decent write up on it, but it was lost in the upgrade. For the money, I doubt there is anything of this quality available. Once broken in, it is a quick sub with a large freq. range. The output is very good for the power it needs, though it can take more. But also look at the 12" and 15" MAW models, there has been nothing but positive reviews on them also. I have the 12" but only limited testing on it.

[meistah 0]

hmm, thanks denim....funny you should mention it, as i currently have 2 maw 15s in a sealed box in my car right now...but i think i might just take 1 out and build a ported box for the car and use the one i take out for my "ht" setup...and maybe get the 300w plate amp off their site for it....would be better for space than the 18 anyways...although having an 18" subwoofer in my room would be damn cool

[///M5 2,833]

hmm, thanks denim....funny you should mention it, as i currently have 2 maw 15s in a sealed box in my car right now...but i think i might just take 1 out and build a ported box for the car and use the one i take out for my "ht" setup...and maybe get the 300w plate amp off their site for it....would be better for space than the 18 anyways...although having an 18" subwoofer in my room would be damn cool

I don't remember where, but someone was selling off a bunch of the 300w bash amps cheap. Too bad that the PE sale on them isn't on anymore. I like the idea of investing a bit more in the sub and particularly the amp as it is easy to upgrade the receiver later.

[topgun 262]

hmm, thanks denim....funny you should mention it, as i currently have 2 maw 15s in a sealed box in my car right now...but i think i might just take 1 out and build a ported box for the car and use the one i take out for my "ht" setup...and maybe get the 300w plate amp off their site for it....would be better for space than the 18 anyways...although having an 18" subwoofer in my room would be damn cool

I don't remember where, but someone was selling off a bunch of the 300w bash amps cheap. Too bad that the PE sale on them isn't on anymore. I like the idea of investing a bit more in the sub and particularly the amp as it is easy to upgrade the receiver later.

IIRC, mach5 is getting the 300w bash amps, just don't remember when.

[meistah 0]

yeah, i saw the 300w plate amp on their site, and i figure it would be well paired with the maw 15 in a sealed box...helluva lot louder than what i got now