System comprises of NAD cd & amp (352 and 542) with Epos M12.2 speakers. System creates a wonderful detailed sound but would like that extra non directional ooompf that a subwoofer would add.

Has anyone got a subwoofer connected to some NAD equipment they could recommend, alternatively any subwoofer recommendations would be gratefully received.

Firstly take a look at this thread to get an idea of the importance of a quality cable and how to set up.

As for a decent subwoofer itself, do you want active or passive and how much are you looking to spend?

Not wanting to be stupid but whats is the difference between active and passive.

As for price, the near the £300 mark the better. If under that it would require less saving!

Nah doesn't sound stupid at all, check out this simple guide and explanation to what a good sub is, what active and passive is and how to set one up effectively: subwoofer guide

Take a look here for a few ideas. I can't suggest anything too specific because like the guide suggests it all depends on type of use and room size etc.

I will take a look as suggested. Many thanks Robbie.

Not really a realistic suggestion but this has to appeal to the geeky side of us, subwoofer

Wow, I am liking that.

Mmmmm feel the power of the force Skywalker!

Just case anyone is interested have now purchases the Epos sub from their 5.1 surround sound package. It's grrrreat!

Bit of advice though, if you are buying one park your car as near to your dealer as possible.....box weighs an absolute tonne!

Currently walking round with arms dragging on the floor. Doc says they should revert to their normal length given time.

Ha ha, the old gorilla arms syndrome : )

Glad your enjoying the sub and lets hope the foundations of the house can take the new roaring bass!

On cabling, yes it is important but there is alot of snake oil hype, so be aware of that too.

My 50 cents ( inflation )

Have to agree with Calvin. There is a lot of nonsense talked about cables.
My take is that it's always worth spending a little more than the very cheapest but the "Top of the Range," prices are for Beckhams only.
;o)

The next thing on my list is a sub, i've been here many times complaining of the lack of bass in my wharfedale evo 30s.At first i thought it was the speaker cable, i was using a dvd player to play discs at the time and was later told an upgrade to a proper cd player would add bass.So anyways i buy a nad 521 bee and sure enough it do improve the bass, but it was still missing that extra depth i was looking for.So i came to this forum and other forums and was told it was my weedy sony amp that couldn't run my speakers, so i later purchase a nad 372.I plug in the nad and discover that there is no extra bass at all, so as you can imagine, i was alittle dissapointed.So it's back to my speaker cable, i've been told many times the qed silver anniversary is a bass killer, and to some extent i don't doubt that, it's certainly way too bright on my set up, i just don't think a different cable will give me the kinda bass depth i'm looking for.I will be upgrading my speaker cable eventually, probably to the chord odessey, i really need to get rid of the harshness, but for now i'm concentrating on the lower end and fixing that.I feel there is no doubt in fixing this problem with a sub, the problem being my last system was nothing more than a midi but i was so used to the built in subs on that, it made my upgraded equipment sound weak.I really couldn't understand how this could be, considering my midi cost me 350 and the current set up cost over a grand,it was driving me insane.So it's time to get some power back in the sound, and then some cable to fix the top end, and then i should have a sound i will be happy with, i didn't realise how much fun this hi fi game would be.Sorry guys for ranting on, what i really could do with now is some pointers on a decent sub, i will be fairly happy with one in the 200 to 250 price range, i think for that price i should find something that will do the job nicely.Ive been looking at the wharfedale SW-150 and the mordaunt short Premiere 309W in that price range, so if any of you have had any experience with these or any others around that price, i would kindly appreciate any help.

Ok, I'm sure I'm going to get flamed for this opinion, but here goes...
I was a Hi-fi engineer at the sharp end of the business30 years ago and I was forever getting complaints from Wharfdale owners who either didn't get enough bass or had blown their bass units to bits by overpowering them - they tended to be Reggae enthusiasts, but hard rock took it's toll too ;o) {I don't think I ever met an orchestral music fan who owned Wharfdales?} - The result of this, plus years of listening to Wharfdale speakers, is that I would never recomend them to anyone looking for bass. To be fair though, I haven't had the chance to listen to many more modern examples of Wharfdales, but those Ihave heard haven't changed this opinion. I've stated before that I don't believe that cables "Control" bass, yes there is an effect, but nowhere near the effect of having the appropriate speakers! My suggestion is that you look on eBay for Celestion Ditton 25s which will give you an incredible bang for your buck - I've seen them go for less than £40! Mine have given me everything I want for more than 30 years. Only with 5.1 surround sound have I added to them - Ditton 15s (available from about £15 on ebay) for rears and centers and a Gale Sub for cinematic effects. (Sub buying advice - never get less than a 100W rms sub - not worth having otherwise.) Amps have come and gone, but my ditton 25s reign supreme. They are the last speakers you'll ever need to buy.
ps, most of my friends bought Celestion Dittons at my suggestion, those that did are all still using them.
I hope that helps.

Mike

Interesting post.

The Wharfedale E series didn't produce bass then? I remember seeing them in Comet as a child (Think they were E70 or E50?) with all the drivers & desperately wanting them.

The second hand speaker point is always a good one. My £160 Spendor BC1 are deeply enjoyable though not good for reggae or rock. I'm also finding it difficult to upgrade from them and anything I try seems to be inferior regardless of price.

Hi nick check cheese out BK SUBWOOFERS DIRECT,these are silly money, and will blow your mind, these are one of the, if the best subs around,i heard one of these against a well known brand which cost over a grand, and this one blew it away, its called the MONOLITH, see what you think.

To be honest I don't remember the model numbers, just writing scores of orders for replacement bass units :o)
The big problem with Wharfdales back then was that they only produced one note of bass, in other words the cabinets were very resonant. Similarly, cheap tweeters produce only one tone of cymbal sound :o)
I am a serious believer that it takes thousands now to get to the quality of speakers that were hundreds in the seventies.
People who value "the latest thing," over good sound are flogging them for peanuts! I also have a pair of Gale 401s that I've replaced the driver surrounds on, but they are apparently highly valued by collectors and command several hundreds - Justifiably.
As I said the Ditton 25s seem to be being sold for very little at the moment - they were under valued back in the seventies too despite being studio monitor quality.

Mike

I've just noticed these on eBay... Item number: 9725723093
Ditton 25s currently @ £4.50!
(These are late 60's models -distinguished by the black interiors - 70's models have woodgrain to match the outer veneer.)

Mike

They were quite sensitive so I can imagine it would be easy to blow units.

It's the period of history in Hifi that actually interests me most. There's a lot of stuff around that costs the same as a round of drinks. I really wish I had known this when I started buying hifi.

I've been buying Armstrong stuff recently & had a mint 625 receiver fully restored. Wonderful thing - easily the match of anything new around £500 at 1/10 the price.

I've never heard the Gales but I would like to. Generally I've been going the Spendor route at least in part because it's easy to get them restored. I'm currently running BC1, SP1 and some (non Spendor) LS3/5a. Yes, you're right, there is a definite relationship between cabinet quality and sound.

To put things in perspective, my Armstrong and Spendor SP1, both mint, cost me less than an Apple Ipod Hifi.

Going back to the issue of subs (even though the person who started this thread has almost certainly sorted out his problem as the first post is from last year), I'm very dissapointed by the second hand value of subwoofers. You get very little for your money. It's one of the few areas of hifi that is really improving and the older stuff is well overpriced for the performance.

Andy,

That was a good idea. I actually ordered one out of curiousity following your suggestion. They're OEM suppliers for REL and the Q series was their work.

Their amp panels are recognizable from better known subs. The small one looks very like a Quake.

As you say, silly money.

Just a note about "Gales." For those who don't realise it, the Gale that produced the classic 401's etc. went bust many years ago and the name was bought by another company, who produce budget speakers that can be found in high street shops. Though not bad for budget speakers, the new "Gales" are not in the same league as the old "Gales" (As one of their employees happily addmitted to me.)

- Mike

ps, re:sensitivity, Celestions of the 70's were also very sensitive, (Untill the U series - which were not quite as good as the previous models (10 times less sensitive IMSMW but still better than many current units!)but though we sold very many of them I've only ever replaced a handful of bass drivers for the dittons mostly for the smaller 15's and I'm pretty sure that I only ever replaced 1 bass driver in all the Ditton 25's we sold - I remember this because I would have managed to scrounge a bass unit or two as spares for me otherwise!