[jqp]

I am looking at the New Originals and the New Largers in a tri-amp application with the Marble 9.0s. Active crossover with 3 amps, for tweeter, woofer, and subwoofer. I really would like to go to sub 20Hz with the Largers but does it make sense? These would be for Music first, but also HT.

[jqp]

When I say "match" I mean:

Will the New Largers with a 12" megawoofer and a 15" megawoofer blend smoothly with the 9.0s? They have the 5.25" Scanspeak Revelator woofer. Is it simply a matter of the right XO point with the right slope?

Or would the New Original with a single 12" megawoofer blend better with the same Active Crossover, maybe different XO point, etc.

[rkapadia@ROOP]

jqp,

I've owned the nOrh 6.5's previously, and a friend has the 6.9's.  If the ported bass extension of the 9.0 is similar in character in definition, then I would say that a pair of Larger Subwoofers in stereo *can* blend in speed and texture of the 9.0.

I would have a couple reservations though, going with a pair of Larger Subwoofers in a room.  Even with the bass tuning options, you'll want to consider having considerable flexibility in placement of each subwoofer.  The sheer output alone of the subwoofers (or any subwoofer with similar output) make them sensitive to room nodes, and this is something to consider.  If your room is relatively natural, and you have a bit of leeway with placement, I would feel more comfortable with recommendation.  If you have a room node at or slightly below 20Hz, you may experience a serious peak due to the full extended output of the Largers.

That being said, I think the safest bet with regards to placement flexibility and integration ease would be a pair of Smaller Subwoofers fully loaded.  Despite the specifications, it is very, very likely you will have full extention to 20Hz and below.  I'm not sure as to your maximum dB needs, but it would be very difficult to max out a pair of subs listening to strictly music.  I'm not sure if you'd like to double the Subs as stands, but this would allow a higher crossover of the 9.0's given the close proximity of the subwoofers, allowing for more midbass definition.

Kind Regards,

Rupesh

[Sedona Sky Sound]

John or Brian may need to fill in the blanks, but I will give this question a shot. The best possible blend is likely to be with the Dedicated subwoofer. In "real world" situations, your 9.0s are rolling off only a few dB less than the VMPS 626Rs for which the Dedicated was made. Of course, the problem is that the Dedicated will only get you down to 24Hz. This is fine for 99% of music, but may not be low enough (or move enough air) for movies.  

From your post, it seems like you are planning to have one sub per speaker. If that is the case, the New Original will likely be all you need. Using two Larger subs would likely over-drive all but the largest rooms when listening to music (but would be way cool for movies   ).

Getting the correct crossover and slope is likely to be a matter of personal taste. Some folks like to double-up in the low bass region (i.e. give significant overlap between the drivers which gives an exagerated fuller bass) and others tend to like the typical 3-way monitor handoff (i.e. minimal overlap). I discussed this with Brian a few months ago and he recommended starting with a 90 Hz, 6dB/octive slope for the sub and letting the speaker go full range (in that case it was JM Lab speakers that went down to about 35 Hz).  

Hope that helps.

Julian
www.sedonaskysound.com

[Tyson]

Another option would be to get a pair of new original subs and use them as stands for the 9.0's and use them w/a marchand, converting the 9.0's in to essentially full range towers.  Then get a Larger sub and use it as the LFE and bass routing for the center and surrounds for movies.  That way you get the best accuracy for music, and the most slam and deep bass for movies .

And, on top of that, since you are only using the Larger for movies, you could get an inexpensive pro amp (like the Crest LT-1000), put it in a closet w/a long interconnect run back to the pre-pro, and a long speaker wire run to the Larger, and have 1300 watts on tap for the Larger sub, and no need for an external crossover (since the pre-pro will be doing it for you).

One nice thing about this setup, if you got in to a bass contest w/one of those rolling boom-box cars, you'd win

[doug s.]

jqp,

imo, a pair of larger subwoofers will have absolutely *no* problems at all blending w/the norh 9.0's.  no, i haven't heard the 9.0's, but i am presently getting excellent results w/my larger subs & a pair of proac reference 8 signatures, which use only a 4.5" woofer, & are rated at only 86db/1w/1m.  i have a big room - ~26x38x8.5.

i would base my choice of large/orig/dedicated subs on your room size.  i'd also suggest querying brian cheney on the room size issue...

doug s.

[jqp]

I will measure my room tonight and diagram it.

It is basically a semi-bisected 25ftx25ft room, the lower level of a tri-level house, on a cement slab. But it has some closets (water heater and ducting in one, bathroom in another, and laundry room is an "open" closet.

I also just got my Rives Test CD, calibrated for my new Radio Shack analog SP meter!

[doug s.]

w/that area, i would imagine a pair of larger subs would work yust fine...  

dougb s.

[jqp]

This is the 25ftx25ft area.

I am considering rotating everything to where the arrow is.

There is a wet bar area to the left, which is open, with a tile floor. The recliner is in the center of the area. At the bottom of the picture in red is a fireplace. The dark triangular shapes are the Marble 9.0s. The stairs on the left lead up 3.5 feet to the mid level of the house - it is open behind the couch.