Parts Express 12% off Sitewide for Labor Day

Guard Dad said:
A little better explanation on last night's comments, I was...ummmm...busy.

The sub in the first bundle cptlo posted is a passive (meaning it needs an external amp) sub that uses 4, 4" drivers. I have one, the sound is very pleasant but it's extremely limited. Firstly, it only goes down to 40 hz. While that's somewhat sufficient for adding lower end to music, a home theater sub should go as close as possible to 20 hz for the LFE (Low Frequency Effects). LFE is the bombs exploding, T-Rez walking, J-Man farting, etc. Home theater recievers usually boost the LFE frequencies by around 10db to enhance the boom booms and such, so you need a sub that will handle it.

Having such small drivers, the passive sub relies on excursion instead of surface area to move air. Meaning, those little woofers are really pumping even at moderate volumes, and they bottom out very easily as the volume goes up. These are good for music in an office or bedroom, but they won't produce nearly enough volume for movies or in larger rooms without over-excursing (bottoming out). And that sounds bad, very bad! Not to mention that the speakers wouldn't last long under that abuse.

So the bundle with the 10" powered sub is a much better choice. Their 12" sub would be even better. While the Dayton subs are not high-end, they are very respectable budget subs, and they have a reputation for being reliable. I hace one at my office and it serves just fine.

As to the question or towers vs bookshelf speakers...either would do the job since you'll be using a sub for the bass. But the towers will play a bit louder and the bass is considerably better becuuse it is a Transmission Line design. And you won't need stands, where you might with the bookshelf speakers if you can't set them on the TV table.

Transmission Line Speaker https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_line_loudspeaker
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We don't believe you.
 
Just mounted my little Daytons on either side of the TV in the Basement. I run these along with ceiling speakers and a small sub. Sounds great!

Rec-Speakers.jpg
 
I got an email that said today is the last day for the 12% off.

Not sure why a Labor Day sale would end the day before Labor Day, but that's what the email said.
 
Guard Dad said:
Ah, OK they are concentric.

Your call, but I would go with larger drivers. Some of the Monolith stuff is really good, I have two of their subs. Just not a fan of the mini-speakers.
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Expanding on this a bit

Reproducing sound is all about moving air, especially in lower frequencies. There are two factors in moving air with a speaker; excursion and cone area. There's only so much we can do with excursion.

A 4" driver has almost twice the surface area of a 3" driver, so obviously it can move considerably more air at a given excursion. Larger speakers move even more.

And, larger drivers are inherently more efficient than smaller one, meaning with all other factors equal, a larger driver will play louder than a smaller one at a given power level.

The other factor to consider is, smaller speakers typically don't go as low in bass response as larger ones (again with all other factors equal). So when used with a subwoofer, the sub must take over reproducing the bass at a higher frequency. The Monolith mini-speakers are rated down to 80 hz. Now, manufacturers typically rate the lower response at a significant lower db level, which means while they might play down to 80 hz, they will play those lower frequencies at a reduced volume. Realistically, you can usually add 10-20 hz to the lower rating for a flatter response. That means you would probably want to cross your sub at around 100 hz.

The Dayton MKs are rated down to 60 hz, so a realistic rating at a flatter response would be 70-80 hz. So you could cross your sub at 80 hz.

This is important for two reasons:

1) Subwoofers tend to become muddy when asked to reproduce the higher bass frequencies. Better to keep the crossover set lower, especially since home theater receivers usually boost the LFEs (Low Frequency Effects) somewhat for better dynamics.

2) The default sub crossover setting in Dolby Surround and THX is 80 hz. One reason for that is, bass notes become somewhat omnidirectional below 80 hz, meaning you can't tell where the sound is coming from. Above 80 hz the sound is more localized, meaning you might can hear where the sound is coming from. When bass becomes localized, it detracts from the proper imaging of home theater. That bomb going off might sound like it's coming from the sub instead of the side surround.

Lastly, larger speakers are typically capable of producing higher volumes, simply because they can move more air. This really only matters when you want the system to play louder than it can, but that happens more than you would expect. Personally, I would use even larger speakers in a home theater, but admittedly I expect a lot from my system. My left and right mains are 3-way tower speakers with twin 10" woofers and I use an external amp with 230 watts per chanell to drive them.

#nerd off
 
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This is a nice bundle. It has the larger, 6" speakers for the fronts and their 12" sub.

www.parts-express.com

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Dayton Audio MK602X 5.1 Home Theater Bundle with 12" SubwooferDayton Audio MK602X 6-1/2 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker PairDayton Audio has created the MK602X with extended bass response and clarity in mind. The high-excursion driver used in this cabinet makes it easy for this speaker to play deeper...
www.parts-express.com

With 12% off it's $389
 
Guard Dad said:
This is a nice bundle. It has the larger, 6" speakers for the fronts and their 12" sub.

www.parts-express.com

Home

Dayton Audio MK602X 5.1 Home Theater Bundle with 12" SubwooferDayton Audio MK602X 6-1/2 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker PairDayton Audio has created the MK602X with extended bass response and clarity in mind. The high-excursion driver used in this cabinet makes it easy for this speaker to play deeper...
www.parts-express.com

With 12% off it's $389
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Dang, out of stock.
 
Thanks for all the info!!

I cheaped out and ordered this one about an hour ago. It'll be better than any soundbar I was looking at and should meet my mostly minimal needs....I hope.

www.parts-express.com

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B652 5.1 Home Theater Surround Sound Speaker System with 10" Subwoofer Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker PairMeasuring under 12" tall, these small but mighty speakers will never overwhelm the decor in any room. The B652's 2-way design features a 6-1/2" polypropylene cone woofer...
www.parts-express.com
 
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cptlo said:
Thanks for all the info!!

I cheaped out and ordered this one about an hour ago. It'll be better than any soundbar I was looking at and should meet my mostly minimal needs....I hope.

www.parts-express.com

Home

B652 5.1 Home Theater Surround Sound Speaker System with 10" Subwoofer Dayton Audio B652 6-1/2" 2-Way Bookshelf Speaker PairMeasuring under 12" tall, these small but mighty speakers will never overwhelm the decor in any room. The B652's 2-way design features a 6-1/2" polypropylene cone woofer...
www.parts-express.com
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Congats !

Very Nice !

You should be very happy with this.
 
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