Sub recommendations to pair with Edifier MR4

[Mister_magister]

Hi and sorry if it's in wrong category but I've been searching where similar questions were posted and they've been posted all over the forum so here I go.

I have the mr4's as desktop speakers and I've been thinking of getting them a sub to pair them with. Sure they get nice down to 40Hz but… they only do so quietly and if i play bit too loud they get current limited FAST + there's lack of oomph if you know what I mean.

They're connected to jds labs atom dac+ so I only got 2 outputs to work with. With that in mind and the fact that the speakers are ~100€ i don't expect to pay much for the sub, but that poses another challenge. In that low of a price point there's absolutely no measurements. I've adhered to THE DOC but again, no measurements, no way to tell the diff.

While looking at what's available I've found Edifier T5 sub, and it also has passthrough so lowpass would be solved, crossover would be solved and the mr4's won't get the super low bass and I could correct sub too. Idk if T5 is good but passthrough is maybe good? At least it would seem so.

I have another cheap sub, jamo SW-6000A which, ofcourse, has no measurements, but in my experience and measurements (while measuring the room so it doesn't reflect sub at all) it doesn't sound good at all, and also it doesn't have passthrough so either I get some middleman that does lowpass and highpass or two dacs or idk.

So here you go, any recommendations? Oh and I live in Europe

 

[ooheadsoo]

For small room, nearfield, low to moderate volume listening, my budget pick right now is the Monoprice Monolith 8" subwoofer (THX rated for tiny bedroom size). Currently on sale for about $209. I picked one up but haven't hooked it up yet because I can't find either of my spare minidsp 2x4hds...

 

[Mister_magister]

That's good recommendations thanks only issue is that, and it's my own fault for not mentioning it, I live in europe, Poland to be exact, and this is no way available

 

[AnalogSteph]

While looking at what's available I've found Edifier T5 sub, and it also has passthrough so lowpass would be solved, crossover would be solved and the mr4's won't get the super low bass and I could correct sub too.

It is my impression that passthrough does not necessarily imply crossover, especially on inexpensive subs. The signal output might just as well be routed straight through.

Mind you, if you are using a software EQ anyway (e.g. Equalizer APO), you could just turn up the sub a good bit and iron out the frequency response afterwards, then the bass level at your mains will be reduced as well. Using a measurement microphone would be advisable. Unfortunately the trusty UMIK-1 is rather on the expensive side around here, but should you already have a little audio interface, you'd have a decent choice of XLR measurement mics (maybe the trusty Behringer ECM-8000 or the apparently very similar Superlux ECM-999 - in the 30-40 Hz to 500 Hz or so range we're interested in, they should be plenty accurate enough; if you want an individual cal file straight from the manufacturer, the Sonarworks SoundID Reference mic would be worth looking at).

 

[Chrispy]

Was just pondering the passthru/filter thing myself. Need clarification.

 

[Mister_magister]

It is my impression that passthrough does not necessarily imply crossover, especially on inexpensive subs. The signal output might just as well be routed straight through.

Mind you, if you are using a software EQ anyway (e.g. Equalizer APO), you could just turn up the sub a good bit and iron out the frequency response afterwards, then the bass level at your mains will be reduced as well. Using a measurement microphone would be advisable. Unfortunately the trusty UMIK-1 is rather on the expensive side around here, but should you already have a little audio interface, you'd have a decent choice of XLR measurement mics (maybe the trusty Behringer ECM-8000 or the apparently very similar Superlux ECM-999 - in the 30-40 Hz to 500 Hz or so range we're interested in, they should be plenty accurate enough; if you want an individual cal file straight from the manufacturer, the Sonarworks SoundID Reference mic would be worth looking at).

I'm 10 steps ahead, my mr4s are already measured by umik-1 and corrected by REW

Problem is if any bass gets to mr4's they will try to play it and choke themselves which i would like to avoid, i would like to just simply cut off all the bass to them. If thats the case then i need some other way to do crossover it seems

Edit: attached current eq'd graphs just cause I can. Yes it's not perfect but it was never meant to be it's close enough. Now as you can see the FR goes down to 40Hz but if you try to play anything in bass range louder, it will literally dip the volume which i don't want so i want to lift the bass responsibility from mr4s to the sub

 

[roladyzator]

@Mister_magister Did you eventually settle for any subwoofer?

I have the white MR4s and could use a reinforcement in the bass region.

The T5 seems reasonable but from what I understand the RCA is only doing pass-through.

Since you live in Poland, there is polish producer, STX, who make drivers but also complete loudspeakers, including subwoofers.
They have a 10" for 735 PLN and 12" for 884 PLN.
I haven't head them, though, but I'm contemplating picking one of these up instead of the T5.

Edit: The STX subwoofers also seem to only do RCA pass-through, without cutting off the low bass before passing it to the speakers.

 

[Mister_magister]

I have not no

basically what i'm stuck on is separating LR from LFE

 

[roladyzator]

I would start by setting the bass controls on the MR4 to -6 dB.

Another option that wouldn't be very expensive would be to get a 2.1 soundcard.

For example, an Audiotrak Maya U5 has 5.1 line-outs (3 jacks with L/R, LFE/C, Rear channels).
Using EqualizerAPO you could add a high-pass filter to the front channels and a low-pass to the LFE channel.

And perhaps there is something cheaper than the U5, I haven't checked that.

 

[Mister_magister]

yes of course but i already have dac so i don't want to

 

[roladyzator]

Right. If I stumble upon a modestly priced sub with a crossover, I'll let you know. Otherwise I'd probably use the U5 and one of the STX subs.

 

[staticV3]

yes of course but i already have dac so i don't want to

Then the only option is a subwoofer with built-in crossover (LPF&HPF).
Usually, this feature is reserved for studio subwoofers.
Here's a list of those, sorted by lowest price: https://www.thomann.de/intl/subwoofer.html?oa=pra&gk=STMOSW&cme=false&filter=true
(Not all of them have built-in HPFs, so please double-check)

Edit: at a first glance, here are some options:
-Presonus Sub 8BT (200€): variable LPF & fixed 80Hz HPF
-ESI Aktiv 10S (240€): variable LPF & fixed 100Hz HPF
-KRK S8.4 (300€): selectable Xo (LPF&HPF) 70/80/90/100Hz

 

[Willem]

Fewer and fewer subwoofers have high pass filters. The only somewhat affordable one that I know and that is sometimes available in Europe is the "classsic" version of the SVS SB1000. If you look around a bit you may be able to get it for about 450 euros. Of course, that is rather more than may be appropriate for use with these speakers. The alternative would be to use a separate passive high pass filter such as sold by Harrison Labs in the US: https://www.hlabs.com/products/crossovers/ Maybe HL will send you one in Poland. There are schematics for such things online, and if you can find a competent engineer it should not cost much to make a bespoke one.

 

[Mister_magister]

Fewer and fewer subwoofers have high pass filters. The only somewhat affordable one that I know and that is sometimes available in Europe is the "classsic" version of the SVS SB1000. If you look around a bit you may be able to get it for about 450 euros. Of course, that is rather more than may be appropriate for use with these speakers. The alternative would be to use a separate passive high pass filter such as sold by Harrison Labs in the US: https://www.hlabs.com/products/crossovers/ Maybe HL will send you one in Poland. There are schematics for such things online, and if you can find a competent engineer it should not cost much to make a bespoke one.

the crossover doesn't have to be on subwoofer but at the same time i don't want to spend the same amount i spent on dac to achieve crossover

honestly i'm thinking of using mobo line out for subwoofer and doing the crossover in software, there probably won't be any audible diff

 

[Willem]

Hence my suggestion to use a cheap passive high pass filter.

 

[Berwhale]

FWIW - I use the Presonus Sub8 (non-BT) with my iLoud MTMs. I'm using the HPF on the Sub8 and also the LF Extension filter on the MTMs set to 80Hz. It works well - at least it was before one of my MTMs developed a power fault I'm using my old Tannoy Reveal 402's with the Sub8 whilst the MTM is away from repair.

 

[Mister_magister]

Hence my suggestion to use a cheap passive high pass filter.

Can you provide me with example? couldn't find any

 

[Willem]

In my earlier post I sent you a link to Harrison Labs in the USA: https://www.hlabs.com/products/crossovers/ I have no idea if they will supply to Poland. In my own case, I asked a Dutch audio engineer to fabricate me a cable with such a filter. If you Google on "passive high pass filter" you will see quite a few instructive websites with schematics. I am perfectly happy with my high pass filter: below the specified 80 Hz cut off frequency the measured response of my main speakers now drops down pretty steeply as planned.

 

[Mister_magister]

In my earlier post I sent you a link to Harrison Labs in the USA: https://www.hlabs.com/products/crossovers/ I have no idea if they will supply to Poland. In my own case, I asked a Dutch audio engineer to fabricate me a cable with such a filter. If you Google on "passive high pass filter" you will see quite a few instructive websites with schematics. I am perfectly happy with my high pass filter: below the specified 80 Hz cut off frequency the measured response of my main speakers now drops down pretty steeply as planned.

This page looks so horrifyingly 1980's that i wouldn't buy anything from there i don't even know whats what lol

 

[Willem]

Sure, and they are a pretty crackpot bunch. You can also buy through Parts Express: https://www.parts-express.com/brand/Harrison-Labs