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what's a good subwoofer for Dahlquist DQ 10s?

P

pglbook

Member
Can anyone recommend a good subwoofer for a pair of Dahlquist DQ 10s I recently purchased.

I know Dahlquists made a subwoofer to go with the DQ 10s, the DQ 1W, but it is now imposssible to find and, when located, is way too expensive.

Is there a decent subwoofer in the under $150 range that would add some bass to the DQ 10s. I love the open and clear sound of the DQ 10s but I do find, as many have noted, that they lack some bass.

Also, knowing nothing about electronics (so sorry if this is a dumb question), but how exactly does a subwoofer connect to a system? I have never used one.

Thank you.
 
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I might suggest a used Velodyne FSR-10, which often sell for under $200 on Craigslist. I once sold one for $85. :(

Good subs usually have speaker-level (binding post) and line-level (RCA and/or XLR) inputs. So you can run them off the preamp or the speaker terminals. They will often have an internal low-pass filter to run only low frequencies to the sub, and a high-pass filter so you can use them to filter bass out of the main speaker signal. Sometimes these crossover points are adjustable (variable).

Some older subs are passive: no built-in amp. Most modern subs are active, with a built-in plate amp driving them, to save your main amp from a lot of work. Some subs have a phase control; binary or variable.
 
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I have had about 10 subs now of various qualities and keep going back to my Janis sub. Odd up firing slotted port design that seems to get a lot of things right and is much EZer to place than most. Unfortunately it is going to be has hard to find as the DQ 1W. My second faves have been my M&K and those are pretty EZ to find. The isobaric type M&K subs are fantastic IMHO.

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My Janis...

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M + K subwoofer

Thanks for your reply. What model M & K sub do you recommend? I recently checked on ebay and there are lots of models of M + K subs to choose from and unfortunately many of them are quite expensive ($500, $600, for example, beyond my budget). Is there a good M + K sub you can recommend for under $200? Thanks.
 
Good subs under $200 are tough to find, hence my suggestion. Parts Express sells some decent cheap ones too, I hear.

One thing I keep reading on this forum is that two cheap subs can do a great job working together; often better than one expensive one. I have yet to test that claim.
 
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Just to clarify a bit, the M&K isn't isobaric, it's a push pull subwoofer designed to reduce some 2nd order distortion. They are very good subs.

For under 200.00 you'll be hard pressed to find the push pull sorts.
 
Thanks again. Unfortunately there are no Velodyne FSR 10s listed on ebay at present. I will keep on looking.

I am just trying to figure out a way to get more bass and a little more liveliness out of my DQ 10s. As much as I love their clear and open sound, I find that they lack some bass and seem a little flat to me.

I was also thinking about playing my DQ 10s and Polk Monitor 10 speakers together, through the same Yamaha CR 2020 receiver, as the Polk Monitor 10s have a nice deep bass and are livelier and may, when paired with the DQ 10s, complement them and make them sound even better. I do not know if that would work or not but may give it a try. Either that or look for a decent subwoofer (although unfortunately I cannot spend more than $200 on a subwoofer at present).

Thanks again.
 
pglbook said:
Thanks again. Unfortunately there are no Velodyne FSR 10s listed on ebay at present. I will keep on looking.
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There are a bunch of 10 and 12" Velodyne subs along these lines: F1000, F1200, FSX12, FSX12, FSR10, FSR12. The R just means that it's remote control capable. I see them on eBay all the time, in one flavor or another. They're called the Foundation Series, generically.
 
One of the issues with the DQ10s is that they are getting on in years, and often need a cap replacement/upgrade to get the most out of them. If they caps are old and tired, the speakers can sound kind of flat and lifeless.

I had a pair of DQ-10s AND the External Crossover And the factory sub, which is a passive sub. That means it had no internal amp like the subs from M&K or that Velodyne - it needed a good part of the main amp's power to make it work, and that gets split off with that external crossover.

Suffice it to say, if you are not too techie, you are probably better off with a powered sub.
They usually have a built in crossover to split off the low bass and sent the rest of the signal out to the "main" speakers.
You usually run speaker wires from your amp to the sub, which has Left and Right speaker in terminals, and Left and right speaker out terminals.
You run a pair of speaker cables from the sub's Speaker Out terminals to your main speakers (the DQ-10s).
In effect you loop the Amp out signal through the sub to get to the main speakers.

Getting a good sub that is musical for $200 is a stretch.
It can be done, but it can be tough to find one!



pglbook said:
Can anyone recommend a good subwoofer for a pair of Dahlquist DQ 10s I recently purchased.

I know Dahlquists made a subwoofer to go with the DQ 10s, the DQ 1W, but it is now imposssible to find and, when located, is way too expensive.

Is there a decent subwoofer in the under $150 range that would add some bass to the DQ 10s. I love the open and clear sound of the DQ 10s but I do find, as many have noted, that they lack some bass.

Also, knowing nothing about electronics (so sorry if this is a dumb question), but how exactly does a subwoofer connect to a system? I have never used one.

Thank you.
Click to expand...
 
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Search eBay for "Velodyne F-1200": There are several right now, and I think some of them are open to best offers. You'll bust $200, but maybe not by too much.
 
My $50 M&K Volkswoofer went very well with my DQ-10s. More musical than others will have you believe and in all honesty the 10s don't need that much help.

I will say that recapping them does make a big difference.

Also get them at least 18" off the floor.

Good luck

Eric
 
Been using a powered KRK Rokit 10s with mine. Sounds great. I think they are $400 new. Should be in your price range used.

Agree...DQ-10s have good low end. Don't need much help, but definitely fills out the sound.

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