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Passive vs Powered Sub???

A

afswolf

New Member
Hello, I'm a newbie to the audio world and need some guidance regarding passive vs powered subs. I have a chance for a local buy of a pair of NHT Super Zeros and an NHT SW2P sub. After some research, I've found that the sub is passive, but could have been purchased with an external amp. The one I'm looking to buy does not have the amp, so it is passive. How would this work in a music listening set up? I have a Yamaha RX-V690 receiver/amp. Will the sub still be punchy, and a good supplement to the Super Zeros?

Thanks for the help.
 
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If the sub is in the same line as the Super Zeros's, then chances are that they will work well together. The punch will have to come from your amp. I don't know much about that vintage, but Yamaha that I have heard, is not known for punch. If you want punch, then I recommend vintage Pioneer.

I have a Phase Tech sub with mini monitors that is passive. It is a beautiful set-up with a Sansui 717. Even with all the power of a 717, it does not play particularly loud.
So, I would make sure your Yamaha has at least 80 or so watts of power to make sure that you get a nice robust signal through those speakers.
 
Thanks. According to the Yamaha web site, I think this receiver has 80W to the front speakers:
FRONT, 20Hz TO 20kHz, 0.04% THD, 8 ohms = 80W CENTER, 1kHZ, 0.07% THD 8 ohms = 80W REAR, 1kHz, 0.3% THD, 8 ohms = 25W

Then it lists as a feature:
SUBWOOFER OUT WITH LPF -- Allows for direct subwoofer connection. 200Hz Low Pass Filter ensures best possible subwoofer performance.

Does that help?
 
I just looked at a picture of the back of your NHT sub. It only has a single set of five way binding posts, unless yours is different. The amp that originally shipped with it had the crossover as well.

Your Yamaha has:
Subwoofer out with LPF allows for direct subwoofer connection. 200Hz Low Pass Filter ensures best possible subwoofer performance.
Click to expand...
I think they mean a powered sub.

So the crossover may be a bit high. Most Dolby digital and later receivers offer an 80-120hz crossover. In order to use the NHT sub your best bet is probably to buy a separate power amplifier for it. I believe if you locate the sub up front near the main speakers you'll experience less directionality from it, although it won't be ideal. If you upgrade to a newer AVR in the future, look for one with a lower crossover point.
 
I think you should pass on the sub. AV receivers are set up for powered subs. There are plenty of worthy subs out there. It's nice to have a matching system, but far from necessary in this case. I think you will have an expensive time integrating that sub with your receiver and speakers.
 
You could probably run the front speakers as "large" into the sub and then hook the satellites up to the sub. If the Super zeroes are anything like the super ones they are quite nice speakers I am listening to super ones now and they are smooth, detailed, have a good sound stage, and excellent high frequency response. Ken Kantor NHT's designer (and owner?) at the time those were made sometimes posts here.
 
Thanks for all of the help. Glad I asked all you knowledgable folks, as I other would have bought the sub and (maybe) been disappointed.

I've asked the seller if he'll just sell the speakers, and pass on the sub. We'll see what he says.
 
I would not pass on the sub. It's slam-dunk simple to add a sub amp.... :yes:
 
afswolf said:
Thanks for all of the help. Glad I asked all you knowledgable folks, as I other would have bought the sub and (maybe) been disappointed.

I've asked the seller if he'll just sell the speakers, and pass on the sub. We'll see what he says.
Click to expand...

Hold on a minute...high power sub amps can be found cheap. Run the sub preout from the receiver into your sub power amp and you will be able to exceed the powered sub's output if needed. Just make sure you set the crossover point in your HT receiver somewhere that works for both the mains and sub.

Look for any two channel pro amp that can be bridged. You should be able to find 200 watts minimum for about $1 a watt. Plus, you won't be stuck with sub that maybe doesn't have enough punch due to the amp.

I'm running a ULF sub, JBL B-380 powered by a bridged Yamaha PC-2002M (700 watts) in a two channel setup with either Snell b Minors or JBL XPL-200A's. Talk about "punch" ? Look at the cracks in my living room celing:yes:
 
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Double ditto the dittos about adding an amp being easy. Assuming the price is right on the sub...

That said, some paired/matched combos of amp + sub have specific equalization incorporated into the amp to make the sub perform as intended. I don't know if that's the case with the NHT setup, or not.
 
I have the SW1P with the SA-1 (80 watts) amp with SuperZeros. A very nice combo in my bedroom. The SW2P with the SA-2 (120 watts) was supposed to be very, very good. IIRC, look in the Stereophile archives for a review of the exact system (sans amp) that you are looking at.

Mike
 
the BEST is a passive setup.
i run 2 Jensen AVX-21 (fourth order bandpass) boxes each containing 2 10 inch Cerwin-Vega! drivers powered by a Technics SE-A3MK2 power amplifier

using an active crossover i run a 16hz core pass with an endstop at 35hz

Earthquake feel ;)
 
The NHT sub is very nice.

I walked into a Thrift Store yesterday and picked up a NHT SW2P without the amp for $14.00. I hooked an old Onkyo preamp up to an Altec Lansing 9442a bridged to mono (300w at 8ohms bridged). I used a few old coils I had lying around and built a on the fly low pass filter. According to my crossover calculator is filtering at 350hz.

If it sounds good like this it should sound amazing set up correctly. Hopefully I'll find the NHT amp floating around somewhere.
 
There were several different NHT sub amps for sale on Audiogon when I posted the previous suggestion to check there.
 
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