Sub-woofers: Part I

Mark Casavant — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 15:15:00 GMT

Ahhh, the subwoofer. What a modern miracle. It is up there as one of the best inventions ever, in my book (others might be the wireless remote control, the drum set, and the inline six cylinder from BMW, but I digress…).

1981: Life as a teenager. I remember it like yesterday. As a kid growing up in Florida I was able to pursue hobbies at the encouragement of Mom. I went through the typical boyhood distractions: model trains, aquariums and pets of all kinds, drums; but the fire took with audio gear. I really liked the sound of (real) drums and being in the school band I was regularly close to the sound of real instruments, naturally. Not to mention Dad played trumpet and always had music playing at home on his hi-fi.

So, music was in my blood, but the means was through hi-fi. I poured all my extra time into it, between homework, chores, and earning money cutting lawns in the neighborhood. (Good business in Florida for a kid). I was a teenager, learning all the technical terms and merits of great audio, loitering in hi-fi shops, as I sought great sound for my own music. I devoured the monthly issues of High Fidelity, Stereo Review, Audio, and yes, Speaker Builder. Julian Hirsch was like, my favorite great uncle. But I had to go to the public library to read some of the publications. Of course it made a positive impression that I was really into my studies. Hah. I subscribed to many of the mags, but Mom got a little suspicious with all these hi-fi magazines showing up in the mailbox... “Mark, what are you getting ready to buy now?” This was in a disapproving tone. I heard that a lot. I quickly figured out how to get UPS to deliver the goods to my buddy’s address, and then strategically sneak it home

I was always seeking the bass response for my music that hit hard like, well, drums! On MY budget for gear… it wasn’t happening. I distinctly remember reading this how-to article about building your own “Sub-woofer”, in a late ’70s issue of Speaker Builder magazine. “What the …..?” It made me scratch my head. “Hmmm….. I know what a tweeter is, and a woofer; I even know what a squawker is. But what the HECK is a sub-woofer?? Coool……It sounds…. dangerous!” Just what it takes to get a teenager’s attention. This thing just might deliver Neil Peart’s kick drum, and also test the structural integrity of our house. It’s like a science project-- that I would actually get into.

Oh yes, my instant fascination with the concept of a dedicated-to-deep-bass-only speaker system led me to build my own eight-cubic-foot box with a Radio Shack 15” woofer. By then I was in high school, and I recall my buddies saying, "What the hell is a subwoofer??" Come on by after school and I’ll show you!

The track that made them say, “OHHH!” was “Analog Kid” from Rush’s “Signals” album. The deep Moog Taurus Pedal synthesizer notes rattled the freakin’ front door, 80 feet away. It wasn’t very accurate especially by today’s standards, but the laws of physics played out with a big box and big driver when that bass note kicked in, and, well, have you ever heard the term, “brown note”? ;)

Speaking of “Brown”… my brother John was then working at UPS, pre-dawn shift, so he slept in the afternoons. Yeah….that collided with my “concerts” after school. He wasn’t so enthusiastic about Rush, or subwoofers, or me as a brother. “Sleep-deprived Brown” wanted to regularly kick my ass. (We are best of friends now. He does think of me when he hears Rush.)

Little did I know then what an enormous impact the device called a “Sub-woofer” would have on sound systems everywhere, mediocre and great ones all.

The fact that a sub can even attempt to reproduce the huge wavelengths of bass at realistic decibel levels is ambitious to say the least. Some are better at it than others of course. I don’t care, I love ‘em all

I will get into more of what makes them so cool next time. Feel free to tell me via e-mail, why YOU like subwoofers! mark.casavant@klipsch.com

MC

Star Trek - me. AKA The Blu-ray Dilemma

Mark Casavant — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 15:30:00 GMT

It all started with a Christmas gift. A Blu-ray Disc. It was in a padded mail envelope from my friend Craig Eggers at Dolby. I ALWAYS look forward to mail from Craig! It contained the new Star Trek, in Blu-ray. Which I did not have. Hmmmm. I liked the movie so much when I rented it at Blockbuster, I purchased the standard DVD. Hmmmm, again! Here is an opportunity to really check out improvements with new vs. old formats.

Since we set up our state of the art Palladium 7.1 theater system here at HQ with Blu-ray and HD audio decoding, I honestly (and embarrassingly) have been dragging my feet at home, knowing it was going to be an involving transformation. The home system has been based on the brains (and beauty) of the Aragon Stage One, which sadly lacks Dolby True HD/DTS-HD MA decoding. I needed a push! And so it came the week before Christmas.

(I sent Craig an e-mail: “Thanks buddy --- I have a feeling your gift will cost me some bucks to update my system!” He knew what he was doing.)

I was apprehensive for a system make-over, especially considering the mass of wires I have in my component rack, the tight spaces, and the dusting I would have to do. Hey, I can’t just swap components without detailing them. I’m a Virgo --- not my fault!

I finally decided to go for Blu-ray. Of course that meant I would really GO for it, and not for some meager player off the shelf. I chose the Sony BDP-S1000ES. Since Sony developed Blu-ray, I figured their 2nd-gen machine would be good for me, and with protocol 2. (That’s another article, later)

But how do I get to keep my Aragon Stage One? AHHH, with the 7.1 analog input! I needed a special cable (of course!) to make it work. That actually helped push me to the Sony ES BD Player because it includes the multi-channel analog output jacks as it decodes the HD Audio internally.

And then I had to call Jerry at Straight Wire to get that special DB25- 8 RCA cable. I had it Fed Ex’d just in time for Christmas Eve…. My little project for the holidays was ON!

Christmas eve, boxes unpacked, everything is strewn across the floor. (My wife is ever so patient with me and my “projects”) AAAHHHHGGGG! The Blu-ray output works, all EXCEPT for the (all-important) subwoofer channel. Aye Carumba! Time for Plan B, which should have been Plan A. Need a new processor!

But, it’s Christmas eve! And it’s 3 PM. And I have next week off. I need it now. Suddenly feel like Ahnold in “Jingle All The Way” – Amy’s favorite Christmas movie of late.

What the heck am I going to do?

“Uh… honey?? I have to step out and do some last minute shopping, OK???”

Over the last few months I had the idea that a newer AV receiver with 7.1 preamp-out jacks would do the trick as an AV preamp/processor, if I trusted the quality inside, and be a great value for stepping into the new high def audio formats. I needed Dolby True HD and DTS HD MA decoding, but I just did not feel like bellying up for yet another state of the art (expensive) high end preamp/processor. Would my instincts be correct? Youbetcha!

My friends at the local dealer showed me the latest Yamaha AV receivers. Questions:

1. I want a *real* aluminum faceplate on this *ahem* processor (receiver). OK.
2. I want decent D/A converters and an on-screen GUI (user interface). OK. (Hey, may as well upgrade a little bit.)
3. I want it simple, without 3 extra zones, networking, etc. OK ?? OK!!

Met the RX-V1065, bought it, and my little project was ON… again. Better stop by Bath & Body Works for those stocking stuffers while I’m at it.

Got it home, set it up in 1 hour.

WOW!

Here’s the thing: my Klipsch speakers jumped to attention with the new HD Audio setup. Yep, the same Klipsch system I have had for years now. The subs hit harder, the center dialog was clearer, and at a lower volume too, and the sense of space was GIANT. Significant and immediate noticeable improvements!

Do you remember how the vast improvement of Dolby Digital over Pro-Logic was obvious? Well people, if you are not aware of this (and this is the honest truth), HD Audio is hugely better than standard Dolby Digital. You won’t believe what your home theater is capable of until you get this home!

Klipsch speakers are designed for dynamic music and film. The technology has finally caught up to what your Klipsch speakers have been capable of for years, decades even. How cool is that? We now have uncompressed maximum dynamic range for film in the home. Ultimately, my speakers were ready for this change. But I do look forward to upgrading them this year to take advantage of our latest R&D.

Star Trek? All I can say is…. Turn it up when the Enterprise is about to jump to warp speed. You will have a grin for the rest of the movie.

MC's Blog

Sub-woofers: Part I

Star Trek - me. AKA The Blu-ray Dilemma