Active or passive sub + setup of sub

[Joris rymenants]

I am wondering what would be the best buy for use with the SONOS system. An Active or passive subwoofer.
I have some questions about the crossover for the sub output. I have read that crossover is at 80Hz.
Is the output for the satelites also restricted to everything above 80Hz? Or do the satelites get the full range, even when an active sub is attached?
I have satelite speaker which go down till 65Hz. And I think it would be best for imaging if this full range could be used.
So if full range is send to the satelites, I can set the crossover of an active sub to 65 Hz, and should get good results. But if the satelites only receive the reange above 80hz, I should not do this of course.

If I use a passive sub, i just connect it to the stereo out, and be done with it, but the passive subs crossover is at 100Hz.
I have listened to the passive sub, and am not please with the sound. would an activ sub do a better job?

Additional question: When connecting an active sub to the RCA phono subwoofer jack, will changing the equalising settings bass/treble also alter the subwoofer output?


joris

[buzz]

Joris rymenants,

In my opinion one should avoid passive subwoofers. As you've found they don't sound very good. This is because compromises MUST be made during the crossover design and many power amplifiers don't behave well when working into a passive subwoofer.

The difference between 65 and 80Hz is not a deal breaker. Damage (if any) to the sound is much less than the best outcome you could expect with a passive setup. The passive crossover will trample the imaging, a slight crossover frequency mismatch might fiddle with your sense of bass, but the room probably will cause more grief in the bass frequencies.

Based on the care that SONOS has taken with other aspects of the design, I expect that the subwoofer output is restricted to 80Hz and below and the main output is above 80Hz.

Crossovers of any type are not precise. It is not the case that 79.999Hz belongs exclusively to the subwoofer and 80.000 belongs to the satellites. I would set the crossover frequency of your active subwoofer as high as possible and let the SONOS do the "knitting". This will minimize the possibility crossover overlap.