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Vandersteen Subs 2W, 2Wq, etc. as LFE

Okay, I think that the only Vandersteen sub that is made to take an LFE signal is the V2W. The others are made to meld into working with a standard pair speakers rather than use the LFE output. My question: is there any way for these other Vandy subs to be used for LFE purposes?

I ask for a few reasons. First and foremost, the 2W is generally the cheapest and most common used Vandersteen sub. I've got a Maggie 7-channel system, so it should meld well. However, I don't want the sub to just work as the low end for one pair of speakers. I'd like to either use this as the LFE sub or as a "speaker sub" for all the speakers by having the Lexicon sum the low-end of all seven Maggies and sending it to the Vandersteen. In either event, it would require sending a direct signal from the preamp, not the amp. But is there any way to do this with these Vandersteen subs?

Thanks,
Aaron
aewhistory
aewhistory OP
70 posts
 
Hi Bob, thanks! Okay, I see where you're going with this... damn, that shoots my crazy idea down. I don't know if this is pure stupidity, but here goes:

Essentially, what I started to wonder was if I could work toward a system where there would be sort of three "levels" of subwoofer. At the lowest end, really subsonic, would be a buttkicker linked to the LFE output with a very low crossover point. Use my two current subs (SVS 16-46CS+ x2) as general system subs covering the middle low bass (say, 25hz to 50Hz) and then another pair of subs--such as the Vandys--set up exactly as mentioned above and handling roughly the 50Hz to 80,90,100Hz range. I hadn't thought about anything like this, and I've never read anything like this before, but it seems doable.... but then again the very fact that I've never heard of this is probably a bad sign. I dunno...
Post removed 
aewhistory OP
70 posts
 
Hi Bob,
Thanks for the links, I'll take a look at them ASAP.

There are alot of ideas that I'm trying to digest into a long-term plan. For instance, my father has a 7-channel HT using Quad ESLs, and uses either three or four Janis subs as well as a 15"? Velodyne. So when Bondmanp made mention of using the Vandersteens in parallel with my Maggies instead of straight from the Lex, it reminded me of my father's setup and got me thinking about a few ideas. Alot of these ideas are, errr, experimental (lets call it that).

However, let me do some more reading. It sounds like some of my ideas are simply bringing too many disparate elements together. What I'd like though is to conceive of a long-term plan, even if I can't implement it in its entirety now, which is why I'm trying to as much down as possible. Still, it might not be possible.

More later....
bondmanp
1,465 posts
 
I know that many people feel that a single Vandy sub must be placed in the center of the mains to avoid any localization of the upper bass. However, that was not my experience. I purchased my 2Wq subs one at a time. During the months that I had only one 2Wq, it was placed in one front corner of my room. I had no issues whatsoever with localization anywhere in the audio band that I could hear. YMMV, of course. Also, remember that Richard Vandersteen designed these subs specifically for corner placement, and recommends such placement whether using single or multiple Vandersteen subs.
pubul57
3,712 posts
 
I second Bondmanp's experience, assessment, conclusion and his recall of Richard's placement intent.
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