Do higher end subwoofer cables make for a sound quality improvement?

[microstrip]

I don’t hear “boomy, exaggerated, uncontrollable” bass in the Watt Puppy 50th.

Neither did I in the Watt Puppy system V or VII, but I had a decent room and placed the speakers with due care. But they needed amplifiers with adequate damping factor - SETs with high output impedance could not control their bass.

IMO each room is different case. A good friend could never put a full range speaker in his room - he had to go with monitor type speakers.

Long ago Ethan Winner explained in WBF that many times the feeling of boomy low bass is due to problems around 200-300 Hz or upper. One thing is sure - I do not see any difference in RTA spectra when I change the subwoofer ICs.

 

[DasguteOhr]

You are only showing axial room modes. You omitted tangential and oblique, bass modes are not that simple. Then there are objects in the room plus different surface materials that also effect room modes especially above 20Hz and more in line with subwoofer use up to ~80Hz.

I guarantee you, once you've heard of DB Array, you'll think long and hard about whether you want to replicate it. A signal 180 degrees out of phase eliminates room modes and vice versa. There's little to combat it, unfortunately, it's very complex to set up. Many amplifiers are required, and walls have to be built. The DB Array in the photo delivers 7 Hz with 130 dB SPL, which is unhealthy in the long run, but very cool.

 

[orange55]

One thing I found which had a big impact on the sound of my active subwoofers, was replacing the standard fuse in the IEC input for an after market fuse.

I use SR Purple in my subs and my power amps IEC inputs. For me this brought an uptick in transparency which meant more spatial information alongside bass detail. It was surprising the impact this had on the subwoofers.

 

[DaveC]

I'm curious if anyone has had a chance to ABA subwoofer PCs and ICs? Would be very interesting to hear feedback. I may do so when I have a chance and report.

I do have some Clear Bass demo cables if you or anyone is interested in trying out woofer/subwoofer specific cabling.

 

[WineGuy]

I upgraded my power cables to AQ Dragon's to my REL S/812 pair and noticed a significant improvement, so I then upgraded the interconnects and speakon cables to AQ Angel and was very pleasantly surprised. I also put a dedicated AQ Niagra 3000 on each sub and the result was again an improvement.

The result is a tighter and faster sub with a significantly lower noise floor. Simply more musical!

I heard a Vitus Reference amp with a Crystal Cable Inginity(?) series power cable and the difference was astonishing. Speakers were Estellons and they finally sang.

Of course the power cable cost as much or more as the amp. Not in my budget, but I enjoyed.

 

[sbo6]

I do have some Clear Bass demo cables if you or anyone is interested in trying out woofer/subwoofer specific cabling.

Thank you. I have some cables that I'd like to try here first, but I may take you up on your offer.

 

[mtemur]

I don’t hear “boomy, exaggerated, uncontrollable” bass in the Watt Puppy 50th.

It’s highly unlikely for Watt-Puppy 50th to be any different than predecessors but I’m glad they fixed it.

 

[WineGuy]

I heard a Vitus Reference amp with a Crystal Cable Inginity(?) series power cable and the difference was astonishing. Speakers were Estellons and they finally sang.

Of course the power cable cost as much or more as the amp. Not in my budget, but I enjoyed.

*infinity*