How many DO NOT use a Subwoofer?

You might want to look into Transmission Line speaker designs which will operate over a very wide frequency range, have a very uncoloured sound and offer 'tuned' but not exaggerated bass. Even at lower volume levels the output is very satisfying. I use a single pair of TDL Studio 1 monitors coupled to a rebuilt Quad 405.2 amp. Sadly the TDLs are no longer made (though the name lives on) but might be worth searching for second hand, or perhaps try buying new and IPL Acoustics kit from http://www.iplacoustics.co.uk/ipl_acoustics_____transmission_l.htm

Athough floor standers, the footprint is relatively small but the results big-hearted.

I have several types of speakers. I bought my tower speakers for 30 to 50 percentage of retail cost. That said, if I were starting over, I would buy as many Definative Technology SM 55 studio monitors as I could afford. They have excellent bass production for bookshelf size speakers. While they are not bipolar, at their price point, I could justify purchasing twice the number and aim half of them toward the back wall. I have no connection with D T or stock in the company. I have just found many of their products are excellent for Hauptwerk use. The SM 55 is one of the units I have gladly paid full price for and feel they are well worth it for Hauptwerk speakers. They benefit from the addition of subs but could stand on their own if space and or funds were tight. For me, funds have always been one of the limiting factors.

I'm struggling with speaker setup around my subwoofer. I have a group of Monitor Audio speakers that are probably good down to about 45Hz, but for the pedals I'm using a 12" subwoofer that is good to 18Hz or so. I'm using Hauptwerk's bass management to switch the lowest pipes to the subwoofer, which I understand is the recommended technique. The problem is that even 32' reeds have a lot of high frequency content, so there's a big tonal change when the pipes transition from the main speakers to the subwoofer. A scale that crosses that boundary is quite startlingly different above and below the threshold.

It seems that a better solution might be to send low frequency pipes to the subwoofer and the wide range speakers, with some kind of crossover functionality, so for the lowest frequencies the subwoofer fills in, but the higher harmonics of the lower pipes are still reproduced by the wide range monitors.

Is Hauptwerk able to do this?

It seems that a better solution might be to send low frequency pipes to the subwoofer and the wide range speakers, with some kind of crossover functionality, so for the lowest frequencies the subwoofer fills in, but the higher harmonics of the lower pipes are still reproduced by the wide range monitors.

Yes, this is the normal arrangement.

How to implement it depends on which version of HW you have,

With the advanced edition you can create a mix-down audio output which combines the signals from all the other channels and use this to drive the subwoofer. The manual (p167) covers this.

If you don't have the advanced edition, it will be necessary to combine the L and R main outputs and send them to the subwoofer. Most commercial subs I've seen do this quite happily themselves by accepting full range L and R inputs (often at speaker level as well as line level) and dealing with the mixing and crossover functions internally. For a home built sub, the mixing and filtering would have to be provided by the constructor.

Nick

Hi Pat,

Check out this thread.

viewtopic.php?f=17&t=9656

I use headphones most of the time. The "Silent Subwoofer" is excellent.

Andrew

Yes, this is the normal arrangement.

How to implement it depends on which version of HW you have,

With the advanced edition you can create a mix-down audio output which combines the signals from all the other channels and use this to drive the subwoofer. The manual (p167) covers this.
Nick

Thanks, Nick. This is very helpful. I had a go at this and it seems to work, although I discovered that mix downs need to operate within one physical interface - I had my subwoofer connected through a separate audio output from my computer and Hauptwerk wouldn't allow it for reasons of synchronization.

I'm actually using my home theater speakers for the organ, via a switching arrangement that swaps the inputs from the home theater processor to the organ (Firebox) with relays. The solution I'm working with for now is to use the four Monitor Audio surround speakers as the "Main" outputs, and a pair of large full-range Thiel CS3.6 speakers for the mixdown. My subwoofer is home-made, but I'm sure I can add it into the mix - it will probably have to go via the home theater processor as the only remaining outputs on my Firebox are SPDIF.

More info on my organ and build process here: http://www.organforum.com/forums/showthread.php?44227-New-life-for-an-old-Allen.