KeithH
Senior HTF Member
- Joined
- Mar 28, 2000
- Messages
- 9,413
I apologize in advance for the length of this message, but please bear with me.
About six weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Totem Arro floorstanding speakers to go with an NAD C 370 integrated amp. If you not familiar with the Arros, they are floorstanding speakers with a rather small footprint and small drivers. They are not the most bassy speakers out there, although Totem rates them down to 40 Hz, but the imaging and soundstage from these speakers is unreal. Anyway, I was extremely happy using these speakers with the NAD integrated amp and no sub, until...
Last week, I was listening to James Taylor's "Gaia" off of the Hourglass CD on the Totem/NAD system. If you are familiar with "Gaia", you know that the song climaxes at about 4:20 with low, thundering percussion. I had listened to "Gaia" on both CD and SACD many times prior to last week and never noticed a problem. Well, when I listened to it last week, I heard this strange, but faint flapping sound from the left speaker during the thundering percussion. I removed the speaker grille and listened to the passage again to see if anything was wrong with the driver. First of all, I noticed no holes or tears in the driver. However, during the passage in question in "Gaia", I saw the driver flapping. Obviously, this should not be happening. I should note that the only flaw I have heard from the Arros is this light flapping at this one point in "Gaia". All other music sounds perfect.
I went back to the dealer with my Taylor CD and listened to "Gaia" with a demo pair of Arros last week. Sure enough, the demo pair was fine. I then brought in my pair of Arros today to see if the same flapping problem would occur on their equipment. It did. One of the salesmen said that the voice coil in the one speaker was blown. He said that the thundering percussion in "Gaia" could get down to 28-30 Hz, which at high volumes, could be too much for the small drivers of the Arros to handle. So, he suggested that after the driver is replaced under warranty, I use a subwoofer with the Arros.
I have an Energy e:XL-S10 10" subwoofer connected to a Sony STR-V444ES receiver in the same room for home theater, but have never connected it to the NAD C 370. The C 370 has no direct subwoofer input, but the salesman told me of a fairly easy way to make the connection. See what you think of this. This dealer sells Energy products, and the salesman suggested that I purchase an Energy Active Crossover box in order to route low-frequency information to the subwoofer. What he said I would do in this case is route RCA cables from the pre-outs on the NAD integrated amp to the inputs on the Energy Active Crossover box. Then I would route RCA cables from the sub outputs on the Energy Active Crossover box to the two inputs on the Energy subwoofer ("XOVER INPUT" and "LOW PASS FILTER" inputs). Then I would route RCA cables from the high-frequency outputs on the Energy Active Crossover box to the main inputs on the NAD integrated amp. I could then adjust the crossover frequency on the Energy Active Crossover box. The salesman suggested that I set the crossover to 80 Hz to be safe, even though the Totem Arros are rated down to 40 Hz.
The Energy Active Crossover box is only $240. Does what the salesman told me make sense for connecting the subwoofer?
A part of me is saying that maybe I should get floorstanding speakers with a larger driver so that maybe the subwoofer wouldn't be necessary. I feel as though if I take the Arros back, I am going to have to use the subwoofer, otherwise, I could blow a driver again. Using a subwoofer with the Arros is hardly the end of the world. In fact, the salesman told me that the mid-range and upper register on the Arros will improve since they will not be overloaded with bass information. So, he said the overall sound quality would improve with the sub.
I am inclined to stick with the Arros and connect the subwoofer since I really love the sound of these speakers. The sound they project for a small floorstanding speaker is captivating. When I brought my pair of Arros in today for testing, a few other customers walked in the listening room, and all were shocked by the sound these babies put out. I guess $240 for the Energy crossover box is a small price to pay to have the sound of the Arros. I should note that I chose the Arros over Paradigm Reference Studio 60s, Energy Veritas 2.2s, and a couple pairs of B&W speakers.
A downside to all of this, of course, is that I could end up desiring a better subwoofer than the Energy one I have since I often listen critically to music. Truthfully, I have never had a problem with the e:XL-S10, but I know that for more money, there are better subwoofers out there. Where is that phone number for SVS?! Seriously though, please don't offer any subwoofer suggestions right now.
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My:
HT Pics ; Equipment List ; DVD Collection ; LD Collection
KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
[Edited last by KeithH on September 28, 2001 at 07:37 PM]
About six weeks ago, I purchased a pair of Totem Arro floorstanding speakers to go with an NAD C 370 integrated amp. If you not familiar with the Arros, they are floorstanding speakers with a rather small footprint and small drivers. They are not the most bassy speakers out there, although Totem rates them down to 40 Hz, but the imaging and soundstage from these speakers is unreal. Anyway, I was extremely happy using these speakers with the NAD integrated amp and no sub, until...
Last week, I was listening to James Taylor's "Gaia" off of the Hourglass CD on the Totem/NAD system. If you are familiar with "Gaia", you know that the song climaxes at about 4:20 with low, thundering percussion. I had listened to "Gaia" on both CD and SACD many times prior to last week and never noticed a problem. Well, when I listened to it last week, I heard this strange, but faint flapping sound from the left speaker during the thundering percussion. I removed the speaker grille and listened to the passage again to see if anything was wrong with the driver. First of all, I noticed no holes or tears in the driver. However, during the passage in question in "Gaia", I saw the driver flapping. Obviously, this should not be happening. I should note that the only flaw I have heard from the Arros is this light flapping at this one point in "Gaia". All other music sounds perfect.
I went back to the dealer with my Taylor CD and listened to "Gaia" with a demo pair of Arros last week. Sure enough, the demo pair was fine. I then brought in my pair of Arros today to see if the same flapping problem would occur on their equipment. It did. One of the salesmen said that the voice coil in the one speaker was blown. He said that the thundering percussion in "Gaia" could get down to 28-30 Hz, which at high volumes, could be too much for the small drivers of the Arros to handle. So, he suggested that after the driver is replaced under warranty, I use a subwoofer with the Arros.
I have an Energy e:XL-S10 10" subwoofer connected to a Sony STR-V444ES receiver in the same room for home theater, but have never connected it to the NAD C 370. The C 370 has no direct subwoofer input, but the salesman told me of a fairly easy way to make the connection. See what you think of this. This dealer sells Energy products, and the salesman suggested that I purchase an Energy Active Crossover box in order to route low-frequency information to the subwoofer. What he said I would do in this case is route RCA cables from the pre-outs on the NAD integrated amp to the inputs on the Energy Active Crossover box. Then I would route RCA cables from the sub outputs on the Energy Active Crossover box to the two inputs on the Energy subwoofer ("XOVER INPUT" and "LOW PASS FILTER" inputs). Then I would route RCA cables from the high-frequency outputs on the Energy Active Crossover box to the main inputs on the NAD integrated amp. I could then adjust the crossover frequency on the Energy Active Crossover box. The salesman suggested that I set the crossover to 80 Hz to be safe, even though the Totem Arros are rated down to 40 Hz.
The Energy Active Crossover box is only $240. Does what the salesman told me make sense for connecting the subwoofer?
A part of me is saying that maybe I should get floorstanding speakers with a larger driver so that maybe the subwoofer wouldn't be necessary. I feel as though if I take the Arros back, I am going to have to use the subwoofer, otherwise, I could blow a driver again. Using a subwoofer with the Arros is hardly the end of the world. In fact, the salesman told me that the mid-range and upper register on the Arros will improve since they will not be overloaded with bass information. So, he said the overall sound quality would improve with the sub.
I am inclined to stick with the Arros and connect the subwoofer since I really love the sound of these speakers. The sound they project for a small floorstanding speaker is captivating. When I brought my pair of Arros in today for testing, a few other customers walked in the listening room, and all were shocked by the sound these babies put out. I guess $240 for the Energy crossover box is a small price to pay to have the sound of the Arros. I should note that I chose the Arros over Paradigm Reference Studio 60s, Energy Veritas 2.2s, and a couple pairs of B&W speakers.
A downside to all of this, of course, is that I could end up desiring a better subwoofer than the Energy one I have since I often listen critically to music. Truthfully, I have never had a problem with the e:XL-S10, but I know that for more money, there are better subwoofers out there. Where is that phone number for SVS?! Seriously though, please don't offer any subwoofer suggestions right now.
------------------
My:
HT Pics ; Equipment List ; DVD Collection ; LD Collection
KeithH: Saving the Home Theater World Before Bedtime
[Edited last by KeithH on September 28, 2001 at 07:37 PM]
