Sub woofer to pair with Q Acoustics BT3 speakers

mrochester · 11 Feb 2017 at 11:07

Hi all

I have a pair of Q Acoustics BT3 speakers in my sitting room and I'd like to achieve a slightly deeper and more pronounced bass so I've been looking at sub woofers.

Has anyone got any recommendations as to what I could pair them with to achieve this? For comparison purposes, I'd like to achieve the sort of bass that my Logitech Z5500 speakers connected to my computer can achieve.

Many thanks

M.

Marsman · 11 Feb 2017 at 12:48

Depends on what you are looking to spend and whether you are willing to consider second hand.

If you want to stick to new, then minimum would be a Wharfedale SW150, which is about £150 from SuperFi. If you can spend more, then BK Gemini II for £215. More would be better again, but again, depends what your budget is.

If you don't mind looking at used, there are likely to be some very good bargains on various sites classified sections. I suppose though, due to the weight of subwoofer, most people selling second hand ones, will probably only offer collection.

Some people don't mind trawling through classifieds looking for a bargain and don't mind travelling; others just want to click 'buy' on a website and be done with it.

mrochester · 11 Feb 2017 at 12:49

That's for your suggestion. Around the £200 mark was what I was considering.

mrochester · 11 Feb 2017 at 15:59

This is also possibly a silly question but is it just a case of getting a sub woofer and connecting it to the sub out connection on the BT3s?

Marsman · 11 Feb 2017 at 16:51

Yeah, active speakers having a sub out makes connection very easy. Without sub out, connecting a subwoofer to active speakers is a lot more hassle.

Schizo · 11 Feb 2017 at 16:54

I would go for the bk for that money,there is a huge one on the members market if you have access.

ubern00b · 11 Feb 2017 at 19:01

schizo;30494043 said:
I would go for the bk for that money,there is a huge one on the members market if you have access.

Wasn't sure if I was allowed to plug my sale outside of the MM so thank you for doing so!

Marsman · 11 Feb 2017 at 19:09

OP being in Newcastle might be an issue.

ubern00b · 11 Feb 2017 at 19:12

Marsman;30494501 said:
OP being in Newcastle might be an issue.

Probably but where there's a will there's a way

mrochester · 11 Feb 2017 at 19:46

Final silly question, what cable do you need to connect a set of BT3s to a sub?

Marsman · 12 Feb 2017 at 00:31

You need a shielded mono RCA cable, often marketed as a 'subwoofer cable', probably so brands and retailers can charge more and some people just pay it, because 'it's a special cable meant only for subwoofers'.

What length will you need? 3m or less?

mrochester · 12 Feb 2017 at 07:56

Marsman;30495228 said:
You need a shielded mono RCA cable, often marketed as a 'subwoofer cable', probably so brands and retailers can charge more and some people just pay it, because 'it's a special cable meant only for subwoofers'.

What length will you need? 3m or less?

I'm thinking about the sub being about 1 metre from the active speaker.

james.miller · 12 Feb 2017 at 08:04

Marsman;30493388 said:
BK Gemini II for £215

Job done. comes with 5m cables to connect it up, too.

Schizo · 12 Feb 2017 at 08:20

ubern00b;30494472 said:
Wasn't sure if I was allowed to plug my sale outside of the MM so thank you for doing so!

You can always put the link in your sig

I really want your sub but your to far away

Marsman · 12 Feb 2017 at 11:32

james.miller;30495414 said:
Job done. comes with 5m cables to connect it up, too.

I'd forgotten the sub comes with the necessary cables.

5m I'm guessing is going to be too long.

Any detrimental effect of coiling up a 5m RCA cable? Probably not, but not something I'm sure about.

If the OP doesn't want to coil the 5m cable (assuming that's OK), here's links to 1m and 2m cables.

Better to get 2M though, if you are considering a distance of around 1M, as you'll need slack.

ubern00b · 12 Feb 2017 at 14:00

schizo;30495426 said:
You can always put the link in your sig

I really want your sub but your to far away

Ipswich? We could come to an arrangement I'm fairly sure.

mrochester · 20 Feb 2017 at 18:00

Hi all

So I've ended up purchasing the Wharfedale SW150, which doesn't come with any cables other than the power lead.

The sub-out on my BT3s is a single RCA connector which I believe I need to connect to the left input on the SW150. However, as it stands, I only have a double RCA to double RCA cable that came with the BT3s. Will this work temporarily or will I definitely need a single RCA cable?

Many thanks.

M.

Marsman · 20 Feb 2017 at 18:49

I think it's the left, but it will be in the manual, which one to use for mono.

Should work fine, as a double ended or stereo RCA cable is just effectively 2 cables where the sheaths are often joined together. As long as you use the same connector at both ends, there should be no issues. Both red, white or black, depending on which colour coding is used.

Unlikely to be shielded, but should be OK temporarily. No idea of the quality of the cable that comes with the BT3, but if it's one of those cheap piddly thin RCA cables though, then while it will probably work OK, not something I'd want to use TBH.

mrochester · 20 Feb 2017 at 18:56

Marsman said:
I think it's the left, but it will be in the manual, which one to use for mono.

Should work fine, as a double ended or stereo RCA cable is just effectively 2 cables where the sheaths are often joined together. As long as you use the same connector at both ends, there should be no issues. Both red, white or black, depending on which colour coding is used.

Unlikely to be shielded, but should be OK temporarily. No idea of the quality of the cable that comes with the BT3, but if it's one of those cheap piddly thin RCA cables though, then while it will probably work OK, not something I'd want to use TBH.

Thanks, it seems to work great.

My next issue is to try and understand crossover. I've read some advice that crossover should be set approx 10hz above the lowest frequency the stereo speakers can do. But I'm struggling to find out exactly what in theory would be the best setting. Anyone got any advice where to look to find the information I need?

Best wishes

M.

hornetstinger · 20 Feb 2017 at 22:58

mrochester said:
Thanks, it seems to work great.

My next issue is to try and understand crossover. I've read some advice that crossover should be set approx 10hz above the lowest frequency the stereo speakers can do. But I'm struggling to find out exactly what in theory would be the best setting. Anyone got any advice where to look to find the information I need?

Best wishes

M.

There is no best setting, it's all trial and error. It depends on the room, and actual speaker response, how the room is sucking out or reinforcing the bass.