David,

Fine Selection on your behalf for choosing an SVS Sub!   They (SVS) are an excellent group of really talented people to work with, and their Customer Guidance/Support is above comparison.  I say this as a Long Time, and very satisfied SVS Owner

To that end, let me direct you to the Top Engineer at SVS who is best qualified to guide you:

Ed Mullen
edm@svsound.com

Enjoy!!

Best Regards,

Curt

David,

You're in Fine Hands with SVS. There's a good chance Ed designed your Sub.  Whose opinion would you prefer?  His or that of a committee? 

Wishing you a successful outcome.

Curt

I'm interested.

A typical main speakers + subwoofer configuration would either use:

• A dedicated crossover frequency splitting that sends the bass to the sub and the remain to the main speakers - with the disadvantage that the filter artifacts spoil the sound quality.

• Or no filtering for the main speakers at all, just adding the sub on top.
The main speakers would still need to deliver the full bass energy, trying to produce frequencies that they are not capable of.
This minimizes the possible advantage a sub can give in extension and clarity.

The basic idea for a solution is simple:

• Connect both mains AND sub to the same stereo output, e.g. by using both the XLR and RCA out.

• To reduce the load on the main speakers/amp, use ADI-2’s EQ’s shelving filter to bring down the low frequencies.

• Now fill the missing bass with the sub.

This way only one stereo output is needed, opposed to when a real 2-way crossover is emulated, which would only be possible with ADI-2 Pro’s dual outputs anyway, and is quite uncomfortable in multiple ways.

The other advantages:
• The main speakers still partly contribute to the bass, improving the bass quality and give a smooth transition to the sub.
• The still multiple sources for the bass (instead of a single sub) give a better room coupling, reducing unwanted room resonances / modes.
• A soft shelving filter does not, like a high/low pass filter of a normal x-over with steep cuts, introduce a bad impuls- and phase response.

And, even a moderate bass reduction of only 6 dB reduces main speakers driver excursion and power amp load to 1/4, this can be a night and day difference in clarity.

Here is a setup guide.
It reads a bit lengthy, but in fact is straight forward, go for “case1”:
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 12#p155312

The guide even explains the use of an easy to obtain and inexpensive measurement tool, which by itself improves the sound quality by a significant margin.

Once you got the sub I suggest you read my posting above again.
I added some explanations.

The method described comes from practical evaluation, e.g. is used for my recording studio’s nearfield monitoring, where it produces an even soundfield for a larger listening area.

My suggestion is, NOT to cut out the bass with a High Pass Filter, but only reduce bass by 6 to 10 dB with a Shelving Filter.

See the difference?

Exactly.
This way the sub takes over the majority of work with the bass.

The main speakers run cleaner now when their membranes have a largely reduced excursion.
For me it‘s the superior way for sub integration, getting the “best of both worlds“ from  - real x-over vs. no x-over at all.

The best way to setup a sub in general is in the link:
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 12#p155312

Could be done by ear and estimation too, but the guide optimizes the setup.

• You could try to reverse connections:
XLR is 6 dB hotter than RCA.

• If your mains speaker amp has input level controls, you could bring them down.
This would improve ADI-2’s dynamic range BTW, but that’s another story.

• If your external amp does not have a volume control, use variable passive attenuators to fit the level:
https://forum.rme-audio.de/viewtopic.ph … 42#p120442

If you change something, remember the current state, so you can come back if you don’t like the result.
A pencil can mark controls positions e.g.

How is a subwoofer connected to an Adi2 FS?