Edifier RT1700BT + Sub Woofer Query

[Sam25]

Hello,

I recently bought an Edifier R1700BT bookshelf speaker set for my room. The speakers are connected to my PC through an Asus Xonar DX audio card and I'm using the Xonar Unified drivers.

Edifier R1700BT Specs

I'm quite liking the natural sound that these speakers produce while listening to music but when it comes to gaming I find the bass reproduction of the speakers to be a lacking. Even if I turn the bass controller on the speakers higher the bass doesn't really sound that great. I usually have the Bass controller set at a flat 0 and the Treble at -4 when I listen to music on them.

I was thinking, if I add a budget subwoofer like the Yamaha NS-SW050 (100W) to the setup will it improve the depth and overall "punchi-ness" of the bass, making it tighter and beneficial overall or will it not do much and end up being a waste of money (The SW-050 is $150 presently)? Since I'm using the Asus Xonar DX audio card as mentioned above, I can connect the Yamaha SW050 to the card's sub-out port via a single RCA cable (sub-woofer cable) using a 3.5mm converter and then make the necessary cross-over changes through the Unified Driver UI (Under Flexbass > LFE Crossover Frequency). I know I'll need to play around with the settings a bit for integration of the sub.

Yamaha NS-SW050 Tech Specs

I would appreciate if someone can lend his advice on this and on generally if it will be beneficial at all for me to add a sub-woofer to the Edifiers? Also, even if anyone here is using a sub-woofer with an Edifier R1850DB please do share your feedback as to how adding a sub to it makes it feel.

My room size is approximately: 14feet X 12feet.

Thanks!

 

[JEDIYoda]

personally I would get a Klipsch Reference R-112SW Subwoofer!!

 

[Sam25]

personally I would get a Klipsch Reference R-112SW Subwoofer!!

Unfortunately it's not available locally.

Can you kindly shed some light on whether adding the Yamaha subwoofer will actually have any benefits?

 

[Muadib]

The Yamaha should give you the bass that you're missing. People who brought it on Amazon & Best buy seem to like it.

 

[Meghan54]

I'd follow the suggestions and buy a sub with at least an 8" driver.

Just curious though.....why did you think that a 4" driver would produce any discernible bass in the first place? The specs of the speaker gives a low freq. response of 60Hz, but note that's at a -6dB rating, meaning you'll never hear that. Most likely that 60hz freq. response from that 4" driver was seen on a scope and not actually audible. Most speakers with "realistic" freq. responses list something like 35-20K Hz +/-3dB.

You're also fighting physics. Very few ways at all to get a 4" driver to produce discernible bass...even with electronic tricks involved. A 4" driver simply cannot move enough air to create bass that'll be heard and be anywhere near the freq. range that's considered to be bass...and I'd really expect those Edifer's to have a true lower freq. response of around 100Hz or higher. Don't care what Edifer calls that speaker (they list it as a "subwoofer" in their literature....lol!) it's the size of what a typical mid-range might be.