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Hey all,
I know that the Focal Sub Utopia EM and Wilson's Hammer of Thor require external amplification (unlike some that include its own sub) so I was just curious to learn if the brand of amp (for the subs from Focal and Wilson) can affect the overall sound. PLEASE forgive my ignorance here, but while an amp for Lamm, DarTZeel, Krell, etc will sound different with main speakers, will the different amps affect the subwoofer's sound? Or, since the sub just performs below a certain frequency, is the brand of amp less important?? If you are using a high brand of amp for the main speakers, could one conceivably use something like a Class D amp for their high power for the subs??
If I were to have Seaton Sound build me a four woofer sub, and the subs do not have internal amping, could I use some Class D amps to power the subs??
MANY thanks,
you are going to get lots of different answers to your question based on particular perspectives.
the following is simply my perspective.
I feel that the main issue involved is ultimate coherence, followed by how deep the bass actually goes. which amp is powering the below 50hz, or below 40hz frequencies, is much less important than whether those frequencies truly completely integrate, and then what sort of headroom you have. if the bass is really well integrated, and the bass is linear thru the musical frequencies since it goes really low, then you have that ease and foundation to the music.
one big question regarding integration is how does the amp powering the deep bass compliment the character of the amp powering the mids and highs? I like Class D amplification for deep bass for a number of reasons. (1) it's very linear in the deep bass, (2) it has no color of it's own so it mimics the source amp in terms of character, (3) it is very efficient electrically and thermally so it does not unduly stress your power grid or get hot under stress, (4) small form factor so it fits in a speaker cabinet, (5) it can be purpose designed to do exactly the job it is asked to do.
in the case of the MM7 bass towers and their integrated class D amps, the real magic is in the way the two towers integrate in the bass. you do not hear any lack of coherency in the bass. the main towers do decend to below 30hz but without much weight in those frequencies allowing the bass towers to integrate properly.
I do not believe that any separate subwoofer/ full range speaker can do that quite as well. so the big issue is whether the main speakers are designed to integrate, or to be full range. this is an either/or type thing, you cannot have it both ways without performance compromises to some degree.
the MM7's extend to 7hz (-3db) and 3hz (-6db). and they do it easily. and the MM7's do not require any outboard crossover compromising the mids and highs. with the MM7 the main towers run totally passive except a tweeter attenuator.
so getting back to your original question; the amp itself is secondary......it's more about how the whole system integrates. it's only after solving that problem that the actual amplifier performance becomes an issue. can a conventional topography amplifier surpass a class D amp powering only deep bass?
I've not done the comparison myself so I can only guess based on things I've heard. I have a hard time imagining any conventional amp competing with what I hear in the bass performance in my room. but that's just one man's opinion. maybe if the MM7's were set up to allow for an alternative amplification we could answer that question.
