# Bass management



## sportflyer (May 2, 2010)

I would like to add bass management unit between the Preamp and power Amp. There are many "Pro" type two way +sub units from the likes of DBX, Behringer, Rane etc. Are these any good for home stereo use? Tks


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

sportflyer - Have you seen this?

http://www.hometheatershack.com/for...1946-bfd-alternatives-fbq-sms-1-dcx-more.html

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/bfd-electronic-equalization-devices/


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

A lot of people use the Behringer; there's even a thread on this site devoted to it. http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/bfdguide/


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## sportflyer (May 2, 2010)

I am already using a BFD to EQ the SVS Sub for my HT system.

I am setting up a 2 channel system for music only. There are not many Preamps that have built in bass management . I can think of Parasound 2100 as one of them. To give me more flexiblilty in choice of Preamps ( probably a tube preamp) , I need one of those 2 way plus mono sub to place between the preamp and the Power Amp.For example some older out of production units are Paradigm X-30, Energy EAC and others.

I was wondering how newer pro units like dbx 223 will perform home stereo environment . ie how do they perform vs expensive units like Bryston etc. 

Thanks


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Sorry, but I don't have any experience with the dbx unit. Hopefully someone who does will chime-in with some info. :dontknow:


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

FWIW-I know a lot of people use various pro units for bass management, so I would _guess_ that it should work quite well.


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

sportflyer said:


> I would like to add bass management unit between the Preamp and power Amp. There are many "Pro" type two way +sub units from the likes of DBX, Behringer, Rane etc. Are these any good for home stereo use? Tks


Look for a used Outlaw ICBM. It is the Swiss Army Knife of bass managers.


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## wgmontgomery (Jun 9, 2011)

Kal Rubinson said:


> Look for a used Outlaw ICBM. It is the Swiss Army Knife of bass managers.


I've heard good things about that unit, too. It has been discontinued by Outlaw, but you may be able to find a used one. There are two on eBay.


They sell pretty quickly from what I understand. I didn't see one on Stereolist or Amazon.


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## sportflyer (May 2, 2010)

Yes, I found the Oulaw ICBM as well. It has more features than I need. I found Paradigm X-30 on ebay but asking too much money for something lying in the warehouse for years . 

Tks


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## tesseract (Aug 9, 2010)

miniDSP?


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## Kal Rubinson (Aug 3, 2006)

sportflyer said:


> I found Paradigm X-30 on ebay but asking too much money for something lying in the warehouse for years .


Too much, eh? I have one that has been in my closet for years.


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## sportflyer (May 2, 2010)

I was considering a miniDSP Tweaking it needs a computer connected . I guess its OK if you have two laptops. One for the REW and one for the MiniDSP.Also I am not sure how good the MiniDSP is sonically.


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## sportflyer (May 2, 2010)

Here is another possibility a friend told me about : http://www.hlabs.com/products/crossover/

These are passive The SW-1 looks like it would work provided preamp output impedance is between 600ohm and 1K ohm .


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## sportflyer (May 2, 2010)

wgmontgomery said:


> FWIW-I know a lot of people use various pro units for bass management, so I would _guess_ that it should work quite well.


I relooked the Pro XO units but they are not easy to adapt for bass management. All of the 2 way Stereo units assume that you are actively crossing over the main speakers ( hence a low and high output) . I was wondering whether it would work if I use only the Sub and low outputs and not use the high out at all . 

It looks like I may have to look for a used bass manager like the Mirage, or Paradigm units or use the very slick MiniDSP. I hesitate to use the MiniDSP because the last thing I want to do is to add a digital processor between analog devices . Much prefer analog XO.


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