nSub options

Coincidentally, I went from a pair of DD15s to a pair of n-Subs.

The Velos are bass monsters, and their on-board room equalisation software works extremely well. If it's just home cinema grunt you're after then they're probably your best bet.

However, until you've listened to n-Subs you won't understand the concept of a musical subwoofer. A strange idea for some but nevertheless n-Subs have musicality in spades and of course work superbly with partnering Naim equipment.

No problem with accommodating the cabling - the n-Sub is raised above the ground on spikes to give loads of clearance.

To find out more I suggest you download the relevant manual from the main Naim website.

Tony,

Thanks, do you think one sub would be enough for a 20x13 room ?

Interested in your choice of two.

If you have the space and the money, I would always recommend two. A double bass array will sound more homogenous.

I too use two subs. Wouldn't want to miss the second one.

Yes, two (or more) is definitely the best way to go, but be aware if you daisy-chain n-Subs you can no longer use the high-level input.

I have a large room & one just doesn't do the business I'm afraid. Best bet is to try one first - your room isn't too large for a single.

Why can't you daisy-chain them with hi-level connected?

I have my (not n-Sub) subs daisy-chained and use the Hi-Level input as well.
Or is that some kind of built in n-Sub limitation?

Didn't find anything in the n-Sub manual about this.

Quite simply if you connect one n-Sub up to the high-level input you can't then transfer the signal via the low-level input, neither can you connect more than one n-Sub in the daisy-chain to the same high-level input.

IWC,

What is your budget? First instinct would be to go for the sub designed for your own speakers.

I use a single WB Torus and have found it better than any pair of subs I've heard to date. Might be worth a listen.

@tonym:
why would you daisy-chain hi-level?

setup, imho, should be:

amp lo-level -> n-Sub1 --daisychain--> n-Sub2
speaker left --hi-level--> n-Sub1
speaker right --hi-level--> n-Sub2

each sub would be connected to a different speaker's hi-level (soldered at speaker end rather than amp end). lo-level is only one output, so a mono signal, so it can be daisy-chained.
but daisy-chaining hi-level would not make optimal use of two subwoofers.

The problem with doing what you suggest is that, if you've positioned the n-Sats in a large room chances are that they aren't equidistant from the main speakers; in my case one's at the front right, other's at the back left, behind the listening position. With high-level inputs each speaker would receive different subsonic signals and the effect would be unpredictable (in my case, lousy!)

The low-level signal from my preamp is stereo (although combined to mono within the sub).

Two subs have many advantages but their disadvantage is the difficulty in achieving correct positioning.

A, ok, that does make it more difficult. Although my subs are not equidistant from my listening position, the front left and right are so they receiver the same signal (timing wise).

So all I need to do was adjust the subwoofers' levels. The discrepancy of the sub-distances doesn't seem to be a problem in my case, although one is 2m and one is 3.5m away.
But then I have my hi-level cut-off set to 42Hz with my Allaes, so they are hard to locate and difference in timing is still minimal.

Budget is a good question. Not sure really as I am thinking of upgrading from a JVC HD100 to an X7, looking forward to an a-b dem of the HD990/950 vs X7 saturday week.

my speakers are Sonus Fabers, Extrema F, Cremona Center, Electo amator rears. All driven by 7 x 135's (bi amping the Extremas)

I wouldn't want to spend over £3k. I also use an 8033 antinode for room correction on the sub

For film I crossover at 60Hz

I think you can get 3 n-subs for 3k. So budget shouldn't be the problem in your case.

If you can, maybe demo the n-Subs and the Velodyne against each other. See if you like gimmicks like the Room-EQ, which is supposed to be pretty good or if you enjoy the musial n-sub more.