[cmirza]

I've ordered a T-Amp to play around with and was thinking of pairing it with an old subwoofer I had. I have a Polk Audio subwoofer from a HTIB kit that was replaced with a more robust sub.
This sub has High Level inputs that you connect to the speaker outputs of your reciever/amplifier and High Level outputs that you then connect your front speakers to. You then set your surround amplifier 'front speakers' settings to 'Large' to send low frequencies to the sub and the sub sends the higher frequencies to the front speakers while the sub outputs the lower frequencies. The explanation for this (in the Polk manual) is that the subwoofer is better able to manage low frequencies than the reciever/amplifier.
Now, does anyone know if this configuration Soundcard =IC=> T-amp =High-Level Inputs=> Polk Subwoofer =High-Level Outputs=> Bookshelf Speakers would work and provide low frequencies to the sub and high frequencies to the bookshelfs?
This would be a cheap way form me to have a good 2.1 speaker setup, if the T-Amp outputs the low frequencies the sub needs. Otherwise, I'll have to buy a pre-amp with Line-In and Line-Out capability ($100). Thanks for any input.

 

[cmirza]

I guess what I need to know is the T-Amp's frequency response and how low it can go (my sub goes down to 40Hz)

 

[Hirsch]

The T-amp can operate into a passive crossover, which is what you're describing. The output goes low enough. It should work. Just make sure that you're using the inputs on the sub that come from a power amp, not those that would come from a preamp. Low-level inputs would be overloaded. As long as the T-amp has enough juice for your satellites, a powered sub should be fine (don't use the T-amp with a sub that does not have a built-in amp).

 

[cmirza]

Yeah, this is definately a powered subwoofer. It has an AC plug and everything. The preamp input is an RCA plug, so it would be difficult to even do that. Line Level inputs are speaker spring clips like the ones on the back of the T-Amp. Unbelievealbe that I can put a system together like this for so cheap.

 

[JWFokker]

You wouldn't want an unmodified T-Amp. In stock form, frequency response rolls off below 40-50hz pretty quick, which makes it mostly unusable for a subwoofer. You may want to wait for the new 'upgraded' versions of the T-Amp to come out, but they'll cost a bit more than the original. You might want to check out DIYAudio.com to see what they think in regards to cheap preamps suitable for subwoofer use. To be honest though, I don't think you'll hear any difference when it comes to your sub, preamped vs no preamp.

 

[Ferbose]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JWFokker You wouldn't want an unmodified T-Amp. In stock form, frequency response rolls off below 40-50hz pretty quick, which makes it mostly unusable for a subwoofer.

How did you come to this conclusion?

 

[ooheadsoo]

http://www.michael.mardis.com/sonic/faq.htm

 

[pne]

i've never understood the whole amp to subwoofer high level thing. Wouldn't that degrade the signal as it has to run through another set of connectors? Why not simply have a rca two way splitter at the source, run two sets of high quality interconnects. One to the amp, and the other to the powered subwoofer? This is what I'm doing, although i'm using a speaker amp to power my diy subs.

 

[ooheadsoo]

Actually, since you have both the amp (1) and subamp (2) and rca splitters (3,) don't you actually have 3 things in the signal path? Depending on how you wire it, speaker level doesn't need something like splitters.

On another note, if the signal is split at the source, you will have to adjust the volume of the subwoofer independantly of the main volume every single time you change the volume. You would typically split after the preamp or at speaker level for this reason.

Some also argue that splitting the signal after the power amp imparts the power amp's signature onto the sub.

Some also argue that the line level signal is more sensitive than the speaker level.

There's also the matter of impedance. Some amps can't handle certain configurations and you have no real choice in the matter. This can go both ways.

 

[cmirza]

I won't be keeping the T-Amp as my permanent amp. I just saw it for only $20, and happen to have some unused bookshelfs to pair it with. Eventually, I'll replace it with a real pre-amp/amp, but in the meantime it beats the old Sony mini system I'm using right now.

 

[SportaJoe]

This is exactly what i do and it works just fine. The T-amp going to the high level inputs on my sub and then on to some Athenas AS-B1. Really fills in the bottom end nicely. I didnt notice any sound degradation from when i had the athenas hooked up straight to the T-amp. YMMV. My sources arent the greatest but it sounds good to me

Im to lazy to look right now, but does the chaintech have a sub out. This may be an option to run the low level sub out to the polk and the wolfson out to the T-amp. Not sure about this though. Probably doesnt work when your in high res mode using the wolfson. What bookshelf speakers are you gonna use?

 

[cmirza]

Polk Audio R10s. They're 89db, but I've heard that the R15s (which are just the current version of the R10s) sound good on the T-Amp. So I'm hopeful.