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Can/Does Audyssey EQ passive subwoofers?

McFly

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So my lowly KEF 12b amplifier decided to exit with a burning smell and now just rumbles and plays white noise. (I attempted repair as it appeared to be a cap on the power supply but since the caps were all doused in glue they would not remove from the board and more damage was done so I gave up)

I assume the Kef had a rudimentary DSP or low end boost/Linkwitz Transform type circuit built into the amplifier to correct for the rolloff of the driver in such a small 'kube' and create a more flat in-room response 20-80hz. This was also adjustable by a wall proximity switch 'free-space/wall/corner'

Which brings me to my question - It was running from a Denon X3700H - can I simply go RCA sub-out to a single channel of an external power amp, and run it as an active sub with NO DSP and Audyssey will EQ it in room with the correct boosts and LPF's? or will it sound weak?

If that is the case, can anyone recommend a cheap DSP solution to bring life back to the Kube? Or perhaps something like a pro audio amp with DSP built in similar to what the Marty Sub users often use?
 

Jdunk54nl

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How cheap is cheap? You can get the parts express

You can get this
and this
and run sigma studio and do whatever your heart could possibly dream of.
For $50 and works well

or a minidsp 2x4hd for about $220.

But Audyssey should be able to do ok, minus all the limiters and protection the original amp probably had built-in. You may need to design some filters/house curve via audyssey's app to protect the driver.
 

Jdunk54nl

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Or you can get one of these plate amps to replace yours


Some have dsp too.
 

Chrispy

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Sure, Audyssey can set it up if the sub's amp is fed by the avr pre-out....but if you don't want it to have any eq I suppose you could add it after running Audyssey perhaps? Probably better to incorporate the sub with Audyssey, but if you have a good external dsp in the sub or a minidsp unit etc....
 
OP
McFly

McFly

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Hmm, should've worded differently.

I wanted Audyssey to do all of the EQing that the old plate amp used to do, including the room correction it was offering on top.

So old setup was - Denon, 5.1.4, run Audyssey room correction -> RCA Sub out 1 -> Kef Kube Plate amp input -> Kef Kube has DSP for driver low end, because driver in small box rolls off early otherwise -> Subwoofer Driver

Now setup would be - Denon, 5.1.4, run Audyssey room correction -> RCA Sub out 1 -> Blown plate amp that had DSP replaced by standard analogue power amplifier -> Subwoofer Driver.

With the new setup, do you think Audyssey would apply the Low end boost that the old plate amp had built in?

Thinking about it more, I suppose the limiters that the plate amp would have had would be gone, and the Denon with audyssey would just murder the subwoofer driver.

Might have to go new plate amp or external DSP with a limiter.
 

Jdunk54nl

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Audyssey has a max boost, and with the app or computer program, you can do whatever you want with the house curve up to that max boost.
 

RC231

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I have a x3700 running 2 passive subs (marty cub DIY) on a inuke amp. The amp can do some eq and has a 20hz high pass filter to prevent the subs from blowing up and let audessy handle the rest. I haven't done a post calibration measurement but it works for me and has more bass than I can use.
 

Jdunk54nl

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I have a x3700 running 2 passive subs (marty cub DIY) on a inuke amp. The amp can do some eq and has a 20hz high pass filter to prevent the subs from blowing up and let audessy handle the rest. I haven't done a post calibration measurement but it works for me and has more bass than I can use.
Yes, most of the crown amps, Behringer dsp amps, qsc dsp amps have some type of high pass in them. Unfortunately it usually only allows for 20hz and above, so ULF doesn't work as well. THere are some semi-complicated ways around that.
I also know the Behringer and qsc amps (and upper-end crown) have limiters for their max power out too.

I had a crown xls 1502 that was fine, but needed more power and switched to a qsc gxd-8 and love it. It has A LOT of dsp options in it too.
 
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