[EarJob]

Hello, just to start off, I recently got my 2.0 setup of the Swan MKIII and my goodness those things are beauts and the sound representation on them is astounding. However the Bass is lacking and I new that before hand but never really knew what would go well with the swans so I'm looking towards you guys to help me out.

As the title says, I'm looking for a sub that will blend nicely with the swans. Hoping to get a sub with deep, tight, punchy and responsive bass around the $300 or less pricemark. hoping for it to be standalone or at least doesn't need to run through a dac/amp kind of thing. anyways if you guys need more info on my tastes, let me know. i game lightly but listen to a wide range of music from classical to new age piano solos to old school r&b/hip hop. thanks again!

 

[EarJob]

bump
 
also wondering if there would be a significant difference in SQ when i add in a dac/amp when i already have a sound card. if i recall, i have the HT omega striker 7.1 sound card and i run the swans from the front line jack. my goodness these things are massive on my desk

 

[cel4145]

The HT Omega Striker is a good sound card. I'd stick with that

Pretty much any kind of sub will go well with the Swans as long as it has the right hookups. Beyond that, pick the sub that has the best SQ and volume output to suit your needs.

It's hard to find a good picture of the back of the Swan MKIIIs to see what kind of inputs and outputs it has. Looks like it has RCA inputs for connecting your source (computer) and then speaker terminals on each to connect the 2nd speaker that doesn't have the RCA inputs to the first. Is that correct?

If so, you have a couple of choices for hooking up a sub:

1) Get a sub with left/right RCA inputs. Split the stereo signal coming from the computer to go to both the sub and the speakers.
2) Get a sub with left right RCA inputs AND RCA outputs that passes through the signal. So connect the stereo signal from the computer to the sub, then the sub to the speakers via RCA.
3) A subwoofer with a single RCA LFE input (not dual RCA inputs) will definitely NOT work.

Either way, this means you would have to set the gain (volume) control on the sub and the volume control on the speakers to match them up, and then use the computer to control the volume. So I would find that point just short of where the sub and/or the speakers are loosing composure when the computer is at full volume. Or you can set it a little lower if you like if you are never planning on running it that high.

If you want a larger, 12" sub, this NXG NX-BAS-500 (see the review) available on Amazon would be my choice.

 

[EarJob]

Sweet! Thanks for the recommendation, would preferably try to stay with newegg since I have a gift I want to use up there

. Anyways, This is how my current setup is so far excluding the sub. Sorry for the mess, still stress testing this build haha:
 
http://i44.tinypic.com/jhc31y.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2w3caat.jpg
 
I was checking this guy out and the inputs seem to align with your second option? or through an amp provided I go that route?
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=82-290-130&SortField=0&SummaryType=0&Pagesize=10&PurchaseMark=&SelectedRating=-1&VideoOnlyMark=False&VendorMark=&IsFeedbackTab=true&Keywords=%28keywords%29&Page=2#scrollFullInfo
 

 

[cel4145]

Nope. The PSW505 has one LFE output (for an AVR) and one set of left/right outputs. So you'd use option 1. Still will sound good. My neighbor has the PSW505 and loves it. I can hear the bass sometimes standing next to his house

 

[EarJob]

nice good to hear its a nice bass lol. so essentially i need a RCA splitter with 2 sets of L/R on the end of the cable connecting to the source(sound card)? if so i think i have one of those lying around somewhere

 

[cel4145]

You can definitely get better quality bass output if you spend a good bit more. But that PSW505 is hard to beat for the price

 

[goodvibes]

Used Sunfire HRS8

 

[EarJob]

^ was checking them out. they actually look really nice! not on newegg though

so i have one of these which can connect everything, hoping it will work once the sub comes in:
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA00Z0M55595
 
Would there be any diminishing effects to SQ to any of the components?
 
I was also checking out the Klipsch RW-12d that always go on sale but out of stock

and have been for a while. might have to go through the amazon route if i want that.
was there any other quality subs you can point me too? might use that for future reference upgrades

 

 

[Diablosbud]

I recently bought an Energy ESW-C8 for my small room in the apartment I'm currently living in. It's plenty powerful and the volume output level only needs to be a little over half to blend with my speakers. I can faintly hear a 30Hz tone through it and at 40Hz it has plenty of volume, so it extends very well. One of it's great features is it's ribbed surround, which allows the woofer to throw further. Here is the sub-woofer section of their website if you want to take a look: http://www.energy-speakers.com/subwoofers/ . Mine is from the Connoisseur Series, but above this series in quality are the Reference Connoisseur and Veritas speakers. They have sub-woofers ranging in size from 8" to 12", and even dual passive radiator sub-woofers. I've auditioned a few of their models in Futureshop (not the best place for an audition, but it was convenient) and they go deep. The 10 inches and up sound very powerful. I'm not sure how they compare to the competition, but stay away from the low end Polk subs. I don't mean the PSW505 as mentioned above, but their lower end models such as the PSW10 have terrible port noise and weak amplifiers. Klipsch from what I've heard also make excellent models.