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Sub-woofer with LS3/5As

post #1 of 9
7/23/09 at 8:11pm
Thread Starter 
I have dug out my late 1980's (passive) Rogers LS35A speakers and want to use them with a 5 year old Rotel RA-01 amp my son is giving me. The LS35As are elderly and their design was getting on when I got the speakers back in the eighties. They are very dimunitive and I will use them as desktop speakers and at the tail end of a CDP>DACMagic>GSlee Novo headphone amp>Rotel amp... and Essence STX soundcard>DACMagic>G Slee Novo headphone amp>Rotel... set up.

Now my question is would it be possible to get decent results using an active sub-woofer with the speakers? My idea is to use the Pre-amp out of the Rotel to feed the sub-woofer. I thought I might just try using a Logitech or Razer Mako subwoofer to see if they worked with the set up I have in mind. There are some HiFi subwoofers that can be used with the LS35As but they are expensive and I wondered if using the Logitech or Mako subwoofer might be an option.

Grateful for any thoughts on this - I am most concerned that doing what I am suggesting should not blow up any components.

I listen to internet radio and cds on HD650s and RS1s mostly but just thought it would be nice to listen on speakers too sometimes.

Thanks for any help on this.
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post #2 of 9
7/23/09 at 8:45pm
My opinion is that the computer specific subs probably are more midbass enhancers rather than true subwoofers. I think you might be best off looking for a used inexpensive home subwoofer. Although the LS35A are long in the tooth, they are still capable of producing good results if setup right. Try them without the sub first and then try them with Logitech to see if it helps or hinders performance. If you live in a major metro area, try Craigslist as they are tons of bargains and few hifi hunters out there.
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post #3 of 9
7/23/09 at 9:31pm
Thread Starter 
Much obliged. I'll follow your advice. I don't know how the speakers will work in the set up I have in mind - I have a 26" LCD monitor and the LS35As will sit either side of the monitor. It will be interesting to see.
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post #4 of 9
7/24/09 at 12:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by recca View Post
My opinion is that the computer specific subs probably are more midbass enhancers rather than true subwoofers. I think you might be best off looking for a used inexpensive home subwoofer. Although the LS35A are long in the tooth, they are still capable of producing good results if setup right. Try them without the sub first and then try them with Logitech to see if it helps or hinders performance. If you live in a major metro area, try Craigslist as they are tons of bargains and few hifi hunters out there.
x2

Even the home-theatre subs out there act more as mid-bass subs to compesante for the lack of dynamic range of the drivers that the satellite monitors use. A friend of mine uses a cheapo home theatre subwoofer that does just did, and it totally hinders and compromises the sound of his M-Audio studio monitors.

Best thing you can do is purchase a decent home theatre sub that is adjustable. I was lucky enough to get a Dayton Audio Hsu 8" subwoofer for about 160 shipped from Parts Express, and the ability to adjust frequency crossover and volume make them a perfect compliment to my Tekton full range speakers.

I imagine anything made by Hsu and some of the Dayton stuff are amazing price/performance subs


Edit: If you have a Logitech/Razer sub, try it out, and see if you like it. The way my sub is set up is that my Valab Dac has a RCA splitter sort of like this

and have one run go to my Amp, and the other go to my Subwoofers RCA in
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post #5 of 9
7/24/09 at 6:23am
I'd possibly look into a subwoofer with built in input/output (high pass?) crossover so you route line level or speaker level through the subwoofer, and it'll filter out low stuff and pass on the high stuff to the line/speaker outputs. Don't bother connect anything like the Logitech, get something half decent.
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post #6 of 9
7/24/09 at 6:58am
Thread Starter 
Thanks. More to think about there. I'll probably try the Logitech or Mako sub-woofer to see what happens. Mind you, the LS35As are so old the drivers may fall apart the first time they have a signal put through them!
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post #7 of 9
7/24/09 at 12:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davidc2 View Post
I have dug out my late 1980's (passive) Rogers LS35A speakers and want to use them with a 5 year old Rotel RA-01 amp my son is giving me. The LS35As are elderly and their design was getting on when I got the speakers back in the eighties. They are very dimunitive and I will use them as desktop speakers and at the tail end of a CDP>DACMagic>GSlee Novo headphone amp>Rotel amp... and Essence STX soundcard>DACMagic>G Slee Novo headphone amp>Rotel... set up.

Now my question is would it be possible to get decent results using an active sub-woofer with the speakers? My idea is to use the Pre-amp out of the Rotel to feed the sub-woofer. I thought I might just try using a Logitech or Razer Mako subwoofer to see if they worked with the set up I have in mind. There are some HiFi subwoofers that can be used with the LS35As but they are expensive and I wondered if using the Logitech or Mako subwoofer might be an option.

Grateful for any thoughts on this - I am most concerned that doing what I am suggesting should not blow up any components.

I listen to internet radio and cds on HD650s and RS1s mostly but just thought it would be nice to listen on speakers too sometimes.

Thanks for any help on this.
You may already know this, but the LS35A is the most popular collectible speaker in history. They usually sell for between $1000. - $2000. per pair depending on condition. Even speakers in rough shape are in demand. They're BBC designed near field monitors and are known for neutrality, clear midrange, and phenomenal imaging. They don't require a lot of power, but really shine with better quality electronics. They're still made under license, relatively unchanged, to this day by several audiophile speaker manufacturers and sell north of $2500.

I think they're somewhat overrated, but it still seems a shame to relegate them to desktop duty since you won't be utilising their strengths and won't hear what they're really capable of. I'd almost be inclined to sell them and use the proceeds to finance a setup better suited to your purpose.

That being said, they don't match well with many sub-woofers. The classic match is the passive BBC designed Rogers AB1 which is very difficult to find and prohibitively expensive. Here is a link to a diy version of the AB1

The Unofficial LS3/5a Support Site

That site also provides lots of information about the LS35A's and links to other sites.
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post #8 of 9
7/24/09 at 12:44pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by NightOwl View Post
You may already know this, but the LS35A is the most popular collectible speaker in history. They usually sell for between $1000. - $2000. per pair depending on condition. Even speakers in rough shape are in demand. They're BBC designed near field monitors and are known for neutrality, clear midrange, and phenomenal imaging. They don't require a lot of power, but really shine with better quality electronics. They're still made under license, relatively unchanged, to this day by several audiophile speaker manufacturers and sell north of $2500.

I think they're somewhat overrated, but it still seems a shame to relegate them to desktop duty since you won't be utilising their strengths and won't hear what they're really capable of. I'd almost be inclined to sell them and use the proceeds to finance a setup better suited to your purpose.

That being said, they don't match well with many sub-woofers. The classic match is the passive BBC designed Rogers AB1 which is very difficult to find and prohibitively expensive. Here is a link to a diy version of the AB1

The Unofficial LS3/5a Support Site

That site also provides lots of information about the LS35A's and links to other sites.

Thanks. Yes, I know a bit of the history. I actually won mine in a hifi magazine competition in the eighties. There were three Rogers speakers to choose from - the others both larger models - and I went for the ls35a because of its reputation even then. I don't think I had even heard them before I opted for them.

I didn't use them much because they didn't cope well with any of the spaces that I wanted to fill with music. My fault of course, not theirs.

But now as I work many hours on my pc, it occurs to me that this space might suit the LS35As quite well - they will be less than 3 feet from me! I don't need a lot of volume or bass - so they won't have to work too hard. I also listen to a lot of internet radio - mainly talk, drama etc - and that should suit them down to the ground. But I listen to a lot of jazz funk and straight jazz and the LS35As may not be so happy with that.

I'll only find out by giving them a go.
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post #9 of 9
7/24/09 at 12:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by davidc2 View Post
Thanks. Yes, I know a bit of the history. I actually won mine in a hifi magazine competition in the eighties. There were three Rogers speakers to choose from - the others both larger models - and I went for the ls35a because of its reputation even then. I don't think I had even heard them before I opted for them.

I didn't use them much because they didn't cope well with any of the spaces that I wanted to fill with music. My fault of course, not theirs.

But now as I work many hours on my pc, it occurs to me that this space might suit the LS35As quite well - they will be less than 3 feet from me! I don't need a lot of volume or bass - so they won't have to work too hard. I also listen to a lot of internet radio - mainly talk, drama etc - and that should suit them down to the ground. But I listen to a lot of jazz funk and straight jazz and the LS35As may not be so happy with that.

I'll only find out by giving them a go.
Definitely give them a go. Try them without the sub first. If you can place them on low stands or even spikes (with feet to protect your desk) you'll probably find the sound improves. They should sound pretty good with jazz.
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