keith71

I'm thinking of getting one,and I was wondering if it would dramatically improve sound quality on cds/dvds.

kaminari

Oh, the difference can be huge. I'm not sure how good your current speaker setup is, but a subwoofer can be dedicated to providing the bass and low-frequency effect (LFE) sounds, which is important in DVD sound. Digital sound formats encoded on nearly all DVDs like Dolby Digital or DTS have 6 distinct channels of sound, one of which is the LFE channel. Your reciever can direct the LFE channel to your subwoofer, and you'll probably get more oomph if you have one. You need of course, a reciever that can decode Dolby Digital or DTS, or one that is Dolby-digital ready.

If you have really powerful speakers, then maybe you might not need one...anybody correct me if i'm wrong..

hope that helps

ZenDog

There is no doubt about it that a sub makes all the difference for Dolby Digital DVDs. It also helps take the lower bass frequencies away from the rest of the speakers which means there will be less distortion at higher sound levels.

DigIt

quote:<HR>Originally posted by kaminari:
If you have really powerful speakers, then maybe you might not need one...<HR>

I've routed the bass/LFE through 10" woofers, but even a bargain, passive 8" dedicated sub had a slight edge in comparison - if only because of the bass management circuitry. So, I think you can make due without a sub in certain cases, but I'd agree with everyone that if you're looking for the next upgrade, adding a subwoofer will make a very evident and satisfying improvement, especially for DD movies.

[This message has been edited by DigIt (edited November 13, 2000).]

MrVette99

Big Bass is more felt then heard. A powerful sub is a requirement for many of the great DVD films (i.e. The Matrix, SPR, T2, JP, ...). The sub defines the low end, and I swear my high end now seems better too.

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edclem

quote:<HR>Originally posted by MrVette99:
The sub defines the low end, and I swear my high end now seems better too.

<HR>

If you're using the pre-out on your receiver to feed your sub, you should notice some improvement in the mid-high frequencies. The pre-out has a crossover in it that sends all low frequency information to the subwoofer, bypassing the amplifier stage in your receiver. Doing this frees up more receiver headroom (b/c you're driving a limited bandwidth), and you will notice that your receiver seems to be more powerful than before.

This, obviously, is a good thing!

MrVette99

quote:<HR>Originally posted by edclem:
If you're using the pre-out on your receiver to feed your sub, you should ...<HR>

That must be what I'm doing, but what's a pre-out? Is it my mono-LFE output?



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Da List -- no longer being updated

"Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens ... ... I'm getting tired of your gas, now jerk that pistol and go to work ..."

svisscher

quote:<HR>Originally posted by MrVette99:
That must be what I'm doing, but what's a pre-out? Is it my mono-LFE output?

<HR>

Yes.