[hello im sean]

Hi, i've had my aktimate for a bit and i love them to death, however i've recently gotten into dubstep and well. the bass just isnt enough from the 5in. woofers

 so any recommendations?  I'm looking to not go over $300, but seriously if i need more for sub on pair with these speakers i can save more.  Quality over quantity, i hate bloat, but love power. i'm a capable DIY'er as well. thanks!

 

[uelover]

Quote:

Hi, i've had my aktimate for a bit and i love them to death, however i've recently gotten into dubstep and well. the bass just isnt enough from the 5in. woofers

 so any recommendations?  I'm looking to not go over $300, but seriously if i need more for sub on pair with these speakers i can save more.  Quality over quantity, i hate bloat, but love power. i'm a capable DIY'er as well. thanks!

Get some blu-tack under the aktimates and get a good DAC with some good RCA cables. The bass will jump onto you.
 

 

[hello im sean]

using a NFB-12 for a dac, works great, why blue tak? lol and which rca's would you recommend?
 
i was actually thinking about this sub http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub12.shtm but would a 12in. woofer be too much? would it be overpowering or should i go with a 10inch sub? I'm shying away from diy cause i feel like i wouldnt make the box perfect :S
 
edit: ah i see you also have the mini's, question.  When you crank the volume does the right speaker (non amp side) ever shut off intermittently on you?

 

[lupin..the..3rd]

I'm a big fan of Sunfire subwoofers, particularly their "True Subwoofer" line.  I have a TS-EQ10 and absolutely love it.  It hits notes so deep I've never heard before on other people's systems.  The TS-EQ10 plays notes down to 18 Hz.  Eighteen Hertz!  It's relatively small, an 11" cube, but it has two 10" drivers and a built-in 2700 watt amplifier with both balanced and single-ended inputs.
 
Last but certainly not least, the True Subwoofers are Made in USA!  Yay!  Other so-called high end subs (Velodyne, etc) are all made in communist China - No Thanks!!
 
I've owned a handful of powered subs over the years, and I quite frankly can't say enough good things about my Sunfire True Subwoofer.  I'll be keeping this one for a good long time.  Brand new it's well above your target budget, but used, you can find deals on Audiogon.  I scored mine for about $500.

 

[uelover]

Quote:

using a NFB-12 for a dac, works great, why blue tak? lol and which rca's would you recommend?
 
i was actually thinking about this sub http://emotiva.com/ultra_sub12.shtm but would a 12in. woofer be too much? would it be overpowering or should i go with a 10inch sub? I'm shying away from diy cause i feel like i wouldnt make the box perfect :S
 
edit: ah i see you also have the mini's, question.  When you crank the volume does the right speaker (non amp side) ever shut off intermittently on you?

I used to feel that my aktimate mini is anemic and almost wanted to get S8 sub from Audio Engine to compliment it (although I know that is not a good sub). Someone recommended me to try a blu-tak and to get a pure copper RCA cable. I did that and there it is, I hear a very full sound coming out from the aktimate.
 
the bass comes from the rear vent of the aktimate so you gotta make sure you have at least 15cm of distance away from the wall and if possible, get something as a dampener.
 
Those are the cheap and efficient way to get the most of the aktimate and I can tell you, the improvement are not subtle at all. It is like getting a brand new set of higher end speakers =)
 
If you still want a sub, make sure that the acoustic environment in your room is good enough for it. If not, you risk getting loose bass that will destroy the sound balance.

 

[hello im sean]

hmm, ill give the blu tak a shot, and my speakers are about 6-8 inches from the wall, but on some tracks the bass sounds boomy.  I feel like the dampener would fix this, do i want to place it directly behind?
 
oh and which rca cables would you recommend?

 

[uelover]

Hmm the dampener should be on the wall facing the vent at the back. Either that or just get some cloth curtain =)
 
A cable worth considering is Van Damme cable. Super cheap and good. You can google for its review. The Van Damme cable is pure copper and you can use it for both RCA and for the speaker cable. Won't cost you over USD100 for both the RCA and speaker cable. If I had not owned any other cables, I will be fully satisfied by just using the Van Damme cable.
 
Only problem is, you gotta find someone to terminate the cable for you.
 
 

 

[hello im sean]

im about to just go with blue jeans... do the cables make enough of a difference to justify the cost?

 

[uelover]

hmm actually van damme costs about the same as blue jeans RCA cable. I know blue jeans make good digital cables. Not so sure about their rca.
 
Van Damme is a cable that even those who owns hi-fi set ups that costs over 10k would want to use. =)

 

[hello im sean]

sweet ill look in to it, i could probably terminate myself as well. oh and one more thing, instead of the blue tak would speaker stands be acceptable?

 

[uelover]

hey. speaker stand, if you can afford the space, will be better. but you can still use blu-tack as the point of contact between the speaker and the stand =)

 

[sicufuu]

helo bro eulover im from indonesia, 
 
 i just bought aktimate maxi ,would like to try ur advice that u wrote above, i dont want to buy subwof coz im worry will destroy the sound balance, 
 
what is blu-tack ? what u recomend to use DAC or soundcard internal like onkyo se200LTD for aktimate maxi ?
 
sori if i ask silly question

 

[Pricklely Peete]

This ( http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F12.html ) would be a kick ass sub for your setup that could scale quite well with better L/R speakers down the road (giving you an upgrade pathway should you choose to do so). The F12 is a servo controlled sub at 1/2 the cost of a name brand competitor. They also sell the raw drivers with the plate amps (which are required to take full advantage of the servo control) for the customer that wants to build their own cab. I suggest a sealed enclosure if this is to be used for music (although ported types can be quite good also). In any event the F12 is pretty small and very powerful. A bargain at 799USD for the completed unit and 549USD for the plate amp and driver combo (DS1200-CI http://www.rythmikaudio.com/DS1200ci.html ). The web site has plans for the DIY'er taking the guesswork out of building the right box for the amp/speaker combination.
 
Peete.

 

[uelover]

 
Quote:

helo bro eulover im from indonesia, 
 
 i just bought aktimate maxi ,would like to try ur advice that u wrote above, i dont want to buy subwof coz im worry will destroy the sound balance, 
 
what is blu-tack ? what u recomend to use DAC or soundcard internal like onkyo se200LTD for aktimate maxi ?
 
sori if i ask silly question

blu-tack is the plasticine lookalike. I am sure you can find them cheap USD2 at most bookstores. (http://www.blutack.com/)
 
I have no experience with Onkyo soundcard so I cannot commend. What I can say is that the sound of aktimate will improve with better DAC/RCA cable. It depends on your budget because there are so many DACs out there.
 

 

[Scaremonger]

uelover, what DAC are you pairing with your AktiMates?