Using the B & W ASW 750 in your H/T ?

[robc40x@adelphi]

Hello. This is my first post

I need a new sub. The Velodyne I have is going to my son's townhouse.

This is what I have. My den/ AV room is about 2000 cu. ft.

60% movies 40% music

Denon AVR-3805
Mains JBL L-220
Center JBL EC 35
Rear Surrounds JBL L-830
Sub Velodyne DPS 10

Anyone have experience with these subs? Advice?

Definitive Technology SuperCube Reference

Velodyne SPL 1200R



Anyone using one in there HT set-up?

How would the 750 compare to the SuperCube or SPL 1200r?


I don't believe the ASW 750 is as sophisticated as the Velodyne SLP 1200r But I sure like it's spec. and looks. It comes in walnut that matches my L-220's.


Thanks. Rob

[nicky]

My good friend has the Velodyne SPL 1200R that he uses with his Martin Logan 5.1 system with Summit, Stage and Script I. The Velodyne is very tight and does its job very well.

I recently bought my own new system...all B&W with 703, HTM7, DS7 and the 750ASW that you are referring to.

I do about 70% music and 30% movies and am very happy with the 750ASW. After setting it up properly, it's very tight and love how it performs especially with music....but it doesn't disappoint at all with movies either.

Having listened to both subwoofers (I actually thought about the Velodyne), I think both are excellent subwoofers....lots of people love Velodyne and will aggressively lobby for it, but you really can't go wrong with either (but you should really listen to them yourself before deciding).

In terms of looks, I have the walnut and is beautiful to look at as well than the Velodyne, but the Velodyne does have a remote. And you can find the Velodyne SPL 1200R online or many other stores and probably get it a lot cheaper if price is a factor than the B&W.

[robc40x@adelphi]

Thanks Nick
Your responce is just what I was waiting for. So far you are the only one I've made contact with to have personal experience with these two subs. I have two B & W dealer with in 60 mile of me, I'm going Friday to demo the 750. The problem I'm having is I have not found a SPL 1200r to demo. Still looking. I've read post about issues with the SPL amps not holding up long term. The B & W dealer I'm going to Friday said he has sold a lot of BW's subs and has never had one come back for any reason. My only concern is how the 750 would handle movies like U571's lengthy depth charge scene.
Thanks again. Rob

[sarsi]

Hi Robc40x, sorry for stealing your thread.

Hi Nicky, how do you configure your ASW for music? do you have a separate L/R pre-out to you sub? Thanks

[nicky]

Hey sarsi,

My receiver has a dedicated single sub output so I only use one cable to the subwoofer. Technically, it should not matter if you have a single or a L/R connection to the subwoofer, although L/R are typically for older receivers/processors as the new ones usually have only one dedicated sub out. (Some will argue that SUBjectively, they can hear a difference. But the L/R connection thru y cables, etc etc are only recommended if that's how your receiver outputs...so no choice, or if your subwoofer is having problems with the auto-turn on feature. Usually cheaper subwoofers have problem with the auto-on feature because they don't detect the output from the receiver very well and using two inputs using a y for example can help the subwoofer initially detect output and help turn it on...but sound wise, the subwoofer gets the same exact signal from the receiver and amplifies it the exact same way. So technically, how you connect your subwoofer makes no difference on how it sounds or will sound.

From my experience, factors that will change and affect how your subwoofer sounds or performs are:

1) the settings made on your receiver/processor and subwoofer
2) postition or placement of the subwoofer in the room
3) type of room

Use your favorite music cds and you can play with these factors.

For me...

1) I let my receiver handle the bass management and not the subwoofer. So play with the crossover setting...people and experts will make recommendations but it involves sometimes a long process of listening and experimenting for yourself so that the subwoofer blends well with your front main speakers since you room is different from everyone elses. Some people actually go scientific and go to radioshack so they can measure freqs and get it exactly right or even use special cds, but it doesn't have to be an exact science....just that it sounds natural and good to you.

You should be able to adjust the sub volume output from the receiver as well but it has a limited range so make sure you adjust the volume at the subwoofer end as well. Too much can sound boomy and unnatural. Also make sure the subwoofer is in phase with the fronts or you'll get cancelling of bass which can be slightly or very noticable.

On the speaker setting in the receiver/processer, I set my fronts as well as all the others to small and not large, so that my subwoofer will handle all the low frequencies from the settings made on my receiver. Although the 703 can technically handle the freq, my experience is that it is better to let the subwoofer handle it (which is its only job..it's what it was made for with its powerful amp). From my experience (unless you have a truly great, large tower speaker and amp), the subwoofer does a better job at it and at the same time makes the highs and mids better and more open and dynamic since it doesn't have to deal with the really low freq. And as an added bonus, puts less work on your amp since the sub amp does the heavy lifting of the low freqs. But make sure you play with the crossover freq setting on your receiver so you don't get overlaps between your main speakers and subwoofer because it will affect the sound like too boomy, not enough, etc, etc.

2) Subwoofers are low freq so non-directional, but placement of subwoofer is also very important from my experience, especially when listening to music. Ideally for a front firing subwoofer like the 750, you want it placed in the front of the room with the front main speakers either close or near to the right or left one, but not in the center. It will blend more nicely with your fronts. From there you adjust and play with the location for optimal sound.

3) Unfortunately all basic rooms that everyday people live in are imperfect. But if the above two doesn't work, you can help the subwoofer as well as your other speakers reach closer to it's ideal potential by using acoustic panels...ie some type of room treatment. And depending on how crappy your room was to start with, can make very noticable differences. But you should note that this doesn't substitute for properly setting up your subwoofer and placement.


Sorry for the long response. I don't even know if any of this will help you or if you already tried them. But that's what I did and have learned from my experience.

[sarsi]

Hi Nicky, THANKS.

Actually my RSP1098 does provide excellent bass management that I could have the subwoofer kick in even at Stereo mode. I thought of looking for other way of connecting the subwoofer and go with the bypass mode for playing back stereo.