Hard to find sub amp??

[M7C]

Hi all, I have a passive box sub that needs a new amp and am having a surprising amount of trouble finding what I need. This is for daily office music listening at low-mid volume. I'd prefer not to get a plate amp as I would have to build a housing for it. This is what I'm looking for:

• ~300W RMS into 4 ohms
• Basic DSP crossover at minimum
• Auto on/off via music signal (I don't have 12v trigger capability)
• ~$600 or less?
• Quiet operation

Pretty basic requirements or so I thought. Here's what I tried so far:

• Parts Express BASH 500S (plate amp before I decided against those) -- Loud thump when turning off, I can't stand that, it's poor design and what I mean by quiet operation.
• OSD SMP-500DSP -- Currently have this and am likely going to send it back. Auto off kicks in very easily, even when music is playing. Getting it to come back on requires a LOUD audio trigger. This feature is basically useless.

Other considerations:

Additional products that can generate a 12V trigger, like the Bobwire or RDL audio controlled relay. Either is another $100+ and I'm still not sure whether the OSD trigger works any better than the music trigger.

I'll list a few other things here in a minute...

 

[M7C]

Some other products:

Power strip trigger -- Really don't want to go this route, especially given that my source and sub amp are sitting on opposite sides of the room. And these aren't very reliable in my experience.

Crown XLS Series -- No reliable auto on/off as far as I can tell. The fans might be a problem as this would be sitting under my desk.

Emotiva BasX A1 -- No DSP, no music trigger

Outlaw 2220 -- No DSP, has music trigger

The Outlaw may be the best option with a separate crossover, assuming the music trigger is reliable on this. Does anyone have experience using the Outlaw that way or any other solutions they can recommend? This has become so much more complicated than I expected, given the fairly simple solution I was going for.

 

[M7C]

Well damn. This is a bummer.

 

[JSmith]

• ~300W RMS into 4 ohms
• Basic DSP crossover at minimum
• Auto on/off via music signal (I don't have 12v trigger capability)
• ~$600 or less?

Hello and welcome to ASR.

It's not going to be easy to find something with all these features for less than $600 unfortunately.

Some of the NAD integrated models have auto on/off, as does the @boXem range (power amps), but they 'aint $600.

You may be more interested in a power amp and a mini-dsp.

What speakers do you have and are you sure you need 300W@4R?


JSmith

 

[radix]

Most subs nowadays have amp plates, like the Hypex FA251 (https://www.hypex.nl/products/amplifier-families/fusion-amplifier-family/fusionamp-fa251).

KEF has a sub amp that I think is intended for their in-wall stuff, but it's a 19" rack box, I think. never used it.

You could make an external box for the Hypex, if desired. There might be better choices from Hypex if going for an external box.

 

[jjmanda]

Some other products:

Power strip trigger -- Really don't want to go this route, especially given that my source and sub amp are sitting on opposite sides of the room. And these aren't very reliable in my experience.

Crown XLS Series -- No reliable auto on/off as far as I can tell. The fans might be a problem as this would be sitting under my desk.

Emotiva BasX A1 -- No DSP, no music trigger

Outlaw 2220 -- No DSP, has music trigger

The Outlaw may be the best option with a separate crossover, assuming the music trigger is reliable on this. Does anyone have experience using the Outlaw that way or any other solutions they can recommend? This has become so much more complicated than I expected, given the fairly simple solution I was going for.

I use a pair of Outlaw 2220's for my subs with a mini DSP Flex. Works great, seems well built and the price is a bargain.

Obviously though, needs a separate low pass active crossover or DSP.

 

[fpitas]

I have a passive box sub that needs a new amp

I think no one asked...what were you using?

 

[M7C]

Sorry for the delay. It's a Polk PSW505, which is billed as having 300W continuous power. I know this is no one's favorite sub but for my limited use (home office), it works great. As is so often the case, the plate amp died and I converted it to a passive sub by wiring the speaker directly to the banana jack and leaving the plate installed to seal the box.

I have done this a few times already in other rooms of the house. Each situation is different and I've managed to find an amp that works. For example, in the garage I'm using a Crown XLS with an old Infinity Basslink and it works just fine for that application. In the bedroom I have a PowerX plate (now unobtanium) in a separate box paired with an old Logitech Z680. For whatever reason it's been really difficult to replace this one without overspending. Largely due to products that fit the bill but failed to operate as advertised.

There are some really cheap Chinese Amazon amps out there but they just don't seem very reliable. I'll check out some of the other recommendations here and see what I can find.

 

[DTTOM37]

How about Dayton Audio, they are obviously having qualities loved by Wilson Audio.

 

[DVDdoug]

As is so often the case, the plate amp died and I converted it to a passive sub by wiring the speaker directly to the banana jack and leaving the plate installed to seal the box.

In that case, it shouldn't be too hard adapt another plate amp by cutting a larger hole, or making a (wood) adapter for a smaller plate amp, etc.

 

[newbaudio847]

how about this?
Monoprice SWA-400 400-watt Subwoofer Amplifier with DSP and Presets
unfortunately its not in stock...

 

[Salt]

Hypex FA501

 

[M7C]

In that case, it shouldn't be too hard adapt another plate amp by cutting a larger hole, or making a (wood) adapter for a smaller plate amp, etc.

I really don't want or need to do that this time. My faith in integrated plate amps is pretty low. It's why I like to just convert the speaker box to passive and use a separate amp. And while I have built boxes to house plate amps, it sure makes a lot more sense to find a standalone amp instead.

For example my "main" theater sub is an (again old) SVS PB12plus. I started having issues with the plate amp and got a replacement from SVS. I filled in the hole with a piece of MDF, thus converting to passive, then built a box for the new amp. The upside is that I can put ventilation holes in the box and it won't be subject to all the vibration. Active subs are torture chambers for amplifiers.

I'll check out the other Dayton options. They seem to be a mixed bag. One of their amps on Parts Express had such bad reviews I didn't bother pursuing it.

 

[M7C]

Hypex looks like a good option but I didn't mention I'm in the US and they don't seem to have a US distributor.

Monoprice -- seeing lots of complaints about whining and squealing noises.

I'm leaning towards the Outlaw plus external crossover at this point. My Yamaha A-S301 has a 90Hz cutoff on the sub out but I like to roll it off a bit more than that.

By the way, those who own the 2220, does the music sensing work fairly well? Does it tend to shut off when the music is low-ish or not come back on if the music is too quiet? I realize those are subjective terms. I typically listen at "background music" levels in the office and all the speakers are within a couple feet so it's a nearfield situation.