[JeffB]

I am beginning construction of an Adire Alignment box. Design says to use 2 3"x11" ports. Parts express has a 3"x11" for $12.30 (PN 268-350) or a 3"x 11.5" port for $3.87(PN 269-932). Any reason to spend 3x as much for the 11"one? Would half an inch make any real difference?

For amplification I have 2 choices,
1)An old Onkyo 80wpc@ receiver or
2)A plate amp from my Audiosource SW-15 rated for 200wpc.
The Audiosource amp was my original choice mainly for convenience, auto turn on and no extra space on the entertainment stand. But I am concerned that it might have some type of bass boost or rumble filter. I have not been able to find out from Audiosource. This got me thinking the Onkyo might be a better choice. Even though it is rated for a few less watts I would think the amp section to be much more robust and higher quality than the Audiosource amp. Not to mention no concerns of a bass boost. I don't have the money to buy a dedicated amp so these are my 2 choices. What would you recommend?

[Patrick Sun]

You could always shave off 0.5" with a hacksaw on the mid-section and tape it back up, but it shouldn't really matter all that much in the real world use of the subwoofer.

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Jeff,

As for the amp, I'd go with the Onkyo. I used an old Pro-Logic receiver (100wpc / Kenwood) on my Tempest at first and it worked fine until I blew a channel on it. It still worked fine, but decided to go ahead and upgrade to the Parts Express 250W plate amp (300-794).

I would say that you have good reason to be concerned about the Audiosource amp having the boost/filters.

JKS

[JeffB]

Jeremy did you notice any difference in performance after switching to the PE amp?

[Jeremy Stockwell]

Not much, really. The main thing I gained was headroom. I rarely listen to anything at near-reference volumes, but a few times I was pushing it for demos, etc., it seemed like at some point, the main speakers kept getting louder, but the sub wasn't keeping up. I assume that the Kenwood amp may have been maxed out or at least was distorting to the point that I was getting less clean sound instead of more.

With the PE amp, headroom hasn't been an issue. I was a little concerned about the rumble filter filtering out the deepest sounds, but that hasn't been an issue either. The peace of mind knowing it's there to protect the driver outweighs the very rare occasion that something really deep gets filtered. IMO.

JKS

[JeffB]

Thanks Jeremy