Exploring a move from 2.0 to 2.1 or 2.2

I have the Ascend RAAL Towers and am considering adding subs. I have never added a sub before. My listening habits are 50% music / 50% HT. I added a pic to show my basement setup. Ignore the stand mounters as they will be moved to another location. Appreciate the forums help in addressing my questions...

1. Will adding subs really make that much difference when added to the Ascend Towers? I do not like booming bass but will likely appreciate a deep and tight low end. My musical tastes are all over the place and include rock, jazz, pop, vocals, folk, etc
2. I read most of the previous threads on Rythmik subwoofers. In a thread that was a couple of years old Dave really loved the dual F8’s with his towers. Is this setup good for my basement setup? It is an open 800 sq foot basement but the listening space is in one section about 10x12 - see pic.
3. I have no idea how to hookup a sub. Does it connect to preamp or amp and what type of connections? Reading the internet only confused matters as multiple hookups were described. What is best if I am running a Benchmark HDR dac/pre and Parasound A21 two channel amp. The amp has left and right loop outs and balanced xlrs available.

IMO, bass with the Towers is very good, especially for music. However, adding a sub will off-load the bass from the Towers, so your amp wouldn't work has hard with music. Be a bigger help with movies to reproduce lower bass effects and provide more impact.

You should check with Ascend or Rythmik whether or not the F8's would be good for your space. If not, they can recommend which model would be best. You'd likely need 2. Remember, the sub/bass sees the entire space (eg 800 sq ft), not just the 120 sq ft of your listening area. All Rythmik subs are very musical. You may want to consider something like the F12 or F15 (or even the F18). You could probably get by with 1 to start and add a second as needed.

Typically, there is a subout from the processor or AVR and one would use either RCA or XLR cable to hook up to the sub. Again, depends on what's on the source side and what's available on the sub amp. A quick look at the manual for your pre and it doesn't have it. So, you'll need to look at other options.
1. I think you may be able to use the loop outs on the Parasound to connect to the sub amp and then use the crossover, peq, etc. on the sub for bass management. Towers would still be full range.
2. If the sub amp has high level inputs (eg speaker level), you could hook speaker wires from parasound to subamp and then subamp to speakers. This would provide basic bass management and should not send lower bass to the Towers.
3. You could try a y-splitter in the analog outs from your pre, sending one to the sub and the other to the parasound. Your towers would still be full range. You can use sub controls (eg crossover) so sub only plays bass.
4. Add a mini-DSP 2x4 HD. You can run the rca outs from the prepro to the two inputs on the miniDSP, then the outputs to the sub and parasound. You can then use the miniDSP for bass management.

4 is probably the best option, followed by 2. 1 and 3 may be too "Bassy".

Quote:

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Originally Posted by racrawford65

IMO, bass with the Towers is very good, especially for music. However, adding a sub will off-load the bass from the Towers, so your amp wouldn't work has hard with music. Be a bigger help with movies to reproduce lower bass effects and provide more impact.

You should check with Ascend or Rythmik whether or not the F8's would be good for your space. If not, they can recommend which model would be best. You'd likely need 2. Remember, the sub/bass sees the entire space (eg 800 sq ft), not just the 120 sq ft of your listening area. All Rythmik subs are very musical. You may want to consider something like the F12 or F15 (or even the F18). You could probably get by with 1 to start and add a second as needed.

Typically, there is a subout from the processor or AVR and one would use either RCA or XLR cable to hook up to the sub. Again, depends on what's on the source side and what's available on the sub amp. A quick look at the manual for your pre and it doesn't have it. So, you'll need to look at other options.
1. I think you may be able to use the loop outs on the Parasound to connect to the sub amp and then use the crossover, peq, etc. on the sub for bass management. Towers would still be full range.
2. If the sub amp has high level inputs (eg speaker level), you could hook speaker wires from parasound to subamp and then subamp to speakers. This would provide basic bass management and should not send lower bass to the Towers.
3. You could try a y-splitter in the analog outs from your pre, sending one to the sub and the other to the parasound. Your towers would still be full range. You can use sub controls (eg crossover) so sub only plays bass.
4. Add a mini-DSP 2x4 HD. You can run the rca outs from the prepro to the two inputs on the miniDSP, then the outputs to the sub and parasound. You can then use the miniDSP for bass management.

4 is probably the best option, followed by 2. 1 and 3 may be too "Bassy".

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Thanks for the detailed information. I especially appreciate the breakdown of subwoofer connection options given I do not have an AVR with the typical subwoofer outputs.

You're welcome. Let us know what you decide on the sub.
By the way, nice setup.