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  1. #1
    AR Newbie Registered Member
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    Unhappy Active same as powered sub?

    Hello,

    Sorry if I sound like an idiot here. I get really confused when it comes to watts, ohms,

    I just purchased a Panasonic SA-HE 100 per Consumer Reports advice. I needed to get a new receiver because the RCA theater in a box was a piece of crap (live and learn). I am trying to use its speakers with my new receiver. All the speakers work except for the sub. This new receiver only works with an active sub. Is this the same as a powered one? Can someone please dumb this way down for me and recommend a good sub for under $300 to work with the Panasonic?

    Thanks!

  2. #2
    My custom user title This Guy's Avatar
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    yep, active=powered

    If you could add another $100 you could get the Adire Audio Rava, whic is truly a great subwoofer for the price. For under $400, everything is questionable, could be half decent or total crap (IMO).

    http://www.adireaudio.com/home_audio...eries/rava.htm

    A few people on these boards have this subwoofer and really love them. It's got a powerful 250 watt amp and a high quality driver in a sealed enclosure for very low bass extension. I highly reccomend this over anything else, but if you really can't spend any more then $300 I'd go for the Cambridge Soundworks Basscube with the 15" driver. It got good reviews given the prce they paid for it. It's also sealed, I believe CSW is selling them on ebay. CSW is one of the few companies that sells some decent stuff for cheap.

    -Joey

  3. #3
    Forum Regular
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    The sub-outputs on these receivers are used on powered subs. If Panasonic is using the word "active sub" that is indicative of a powered sub. The powered-active sub has an amplifier in the cabinet to power the subwoofer. There are companys(well at least one) that does offer a "passive sub" line. That is SVS. You must use some kind of power to run their passive sub-line.

    On your 2nd question, I do not have the experience to recommend a powered sub for you to use. Hopefully others on the board will answer your query that are more versed on what is out there in your price bracket in powered subs. In some of my readings some have advocated the Sony SAW sub with a 12 inch sub in the cabinet. If you are in a store that demos subs, try ones in your budget bracket. A good 10 inch sub should do well. Always get a money back gurantee.

  4. #4
    Forum Regular Woochifer's Avatar
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    Hold your horses! Before you even fathom the subject of upgrading your subwoofer, I would suggest that you first address your other speakers. By far the weakest part of any all-in-one home theatre package is usually not the receiver/DVD unit, but the speakers. With a lot of those systems, the satellite speakers cannot handle anything near the low frequency range, and rely on the bass unit to actually reproduce some of the midrange. Keep in mind that most true subwoofers on the market are designed solely for the lower octaves and should not be asked to handle any portion of the midrange frequencies.

    For this reason, you'll get a much more significant upgrade in your overall system performance by using that $300 on a good pair of quality bookshelf speakers like the B&W DM303 or the Paradigm Mini Monitor. These types of speakers can give you excellent frequency response well into the bass range, and seamlessly integrate with a good subwoofer. Build your system gradually. Any kind of system upgrade should start with the front three speakers and go back from there.

    Getting a subwoofer with your current speakers will likely leave a large gap in the lower midrange, especially if your receiver does not allow you to change the bass crossover point.

    If you want to use your subwoofer in the interim, you can actually try plugging the subwoofer output from your Panasonic back into an auxiliary input on your old RCA unit and use that to power the subwoofer. It's not ideal, but it is possible. An active subwoofer is nothing more than a speaker with its own amplifier.

  5. #5
    Silence of the spam Site Moderator Geoffcin's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by swamprock76
    Hello,

    Sorry if I sound like an idiot here. I get really confused when it comes to watts, ohms,

    I just purchased a Panasonic SA-HE 100 per Consumer Reports advice. I needed to get a new receiver because the RCA theater in a box was a piece of crap (live and learn). I am trying to use its speakers with my new receiver. All the speakers work except for the sub. This new receiver only works with an active sub. Is this the same as a powered one? Can someone please dumb this way down for me and recommend a good sub for under $300 to work with the Panasonic?

    Thanks!
    You sound like a pretty smart person to me.

    OK, you need a powered sub to work with your receiver. You've got some inexpensive speakers, and I would NOT recommend you go out and buy a high end sub. That being said, you want something decent, that will enable you to enjoy your system. For my money, the Cambridge Soundworks 12S can't be beat. You can get it direct from the manufacturer with a warrantee on Ebay;

    http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=3064505051

    I own one, and although it's not in my primary HT system now, it worked fine there, and still does in a bedroom system now.
    Audio;
    Ming Da MC34-AB 75wpc
    PS Audio Classic 250. 500wpc into 4 ohms.
    PS Audio 4.5 preamp,
    Marantz 6170 TT Shure M97e cart.
    Arcam Alpha 9 CD.- 24 bit dCS Ring DAC.
    Magnepan 3.6r speakers Oak/black,

  6. #6
    AR Newbie Registered Member
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    Talking

    Hello!

    First let me say that I have poseted a lot of posts to a lot of different message boards and never got such quick, concise, and considerate responses!!! I will recommend this site to anyone who asks me about audio equipment.

    Secondly, thanks for all the feedback. I am going to take everyone's advice into consideration as I move forward.

    Take care,
    -E.

  7. #7
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    ONe thing I noticed one day was a sub/sat system which said powered sub i checked the back and guess what no power cord...hmmmm how can this be powered.....guess thats what you get for a 300$ sub /sat system...its too bad they can get away with saying that..it would mislead lots of shoppers.

  8. #8
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    Sorry for getting off topic but......

    Willow, speaking of missleading shoppers...I have a local audio store here's what happens.The first thing that comes to mind is a JVC reciever. I know that the MSRP is $349.99 (Canadian) On this product in the store the tag reads: SALE! MSRP $449.99--Our Price Only $349.99!! Many other products feature tags like this too. Is this legal? I don't think so...

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