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Good passive subwoofer?

I have an unused Adcom GFA-555 amplifier rated at 600 watts bridged mono into 8 ohms. I am thinking about using it to power a passive sub. Does that sound like a good idea? It would be mostly for use with movies, as I am happy with the full-range bass in my KEF 104.2's for 2 channel music. Any suggestions for a passive sub? The signal path would be from the sub pre-out on my pre/pro or receiver (which I haven't chosen yet). Thanks!
javachip
bignerd100
515 posts
 
Even if you will be using a very good pre-pro you may want to invest in a subwoofer crossover so that you can play with things like phase. NHT has one that is not very expensive and should work well.

Or you can sell the Adcom and get a good powered sub as mentioned above.

Good luck!
smeyers
181 posts
 
I use my old Adcom GFA-555 to drive the woofers of NHT ST-4 speakers with very good results. The Adcom is bridgable by flicking the little switch on the back, and it's bridged mono output is 400 watts @ 8 ohms, not 600 watts.
snofun3
599 posts
 
Hmmm, my 555 didn't have a switch for mono. Older model?

Also - as bignerd says, you'll want to play with phase, paradigm has a good crossover too, and they usually go for around $100.
cytocycle
1,034 posts
 
Audio Control Richter Scale III has a bass eq, crossover and microphone (I use this in my HT on my Velodyne and used it on my VMPS)

Or http://www.behringer.com/DSP8024/index.cfm?lang=ENG

Or Tact system (which is awesome by the way but way more money)

On bridging the amp, get a VMPS larger and you can use a channel on each driver! but that sub is huge! (15" and 18" plus a passive radiator)
javachip OP
56 posts
 
Thanks to all for the very helpful info. I looked at the VMPS website; it appears not to have been updated since 2002. Their phone number still works, so I left a message.
I will check out the other suggested brands as well.

How important is the phase control? What changes do you hear as you adjust from 0 to 180 (or whatever), and how noticeable are those changes? Can the same changes be achieved by adjusting sub placement?
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