Foo - Home Theater Sub: HELLLLP

A couple years ago i bought Logietch Z680's, a 5.1 computer surround system. For the price the thing kicks ass. The sub has always kind of lacked. Just doesn't sound very snappy.

At any rate, while gone for the weekend it mysteriously blew. I think it was pixie dust, or a 16 year old girl listening to the Billboard Top 100 of '08.

The unit has an externally mounted amp on the sub, which is nice because i can remove it and put it onto anything i want. I want to build/buy a new sub/box and just mount the amp on the back of that.

I like the amp because it allows me to hook up my sound card to the speakers. If i use the digital outs on the sound card, the sound bypasses the processing of the card and therefore defeats the purpose of having the card.

I don't know anything about this...so i guess i'm wondering what my options are.

The sub is rated at 180watts RMS @ 8ohms

Discuss...

are you sure its the speaker thats blown and not the amp? maybe you can get a speaker designed for car audio in a similar size and rating, then just use the original housing?

I had this system a few years ago until one of the channels died. It was still under warranty and the z680 wasn't produced anymore so they sent me a z5500 system. It's not that great either but thats another story.

Because of the proprietary wiring between the volume control (you call it the amp) and the sub woofer, you probably won't be able to get any replacement. You could buy a new amplifier and a new sub woofer and use remaining 5 satellite speakers with the new amp.

are you sure its the speaker thats blown and not the amp? maybe you can get a speaker designed for car audio in a similar size and rating, then just use the original housing?

Positive. I've got a little $25 tube sub hooked up to it right now and it works fine. Just sounds like ****. I also think the design of the original box is part of why the sub sounds bad. It's too acoustic and there are some odd sounds that come from the vent.


I had this system a few years ago until one of the channels died. It was still under warranty and the z680 wasn't produced anymore so they sent me a z5500 system. It's not that great either but thats another story.

Because of the proprietary wiring between the volume control (you call it the amp) and the sub woofer, you probably won't be able to get any replacement. You could buy a new amplifier and a new sub woofer and use remaining 5 satellite speakers with the new amp.


Your channel died because a fuse blew inside of the amp. All six channels have their own fuse that is welded to the board. I had this happen once, replaced under warranty, it happened again, warranty wsa up so i had to investigate. I've got the amp off the sub now so i'll snap a pic later to show you. The amp is on the back of the sub, the little preamp (volume control) is not what i'm talking about.

If you already have the amp, you can just go to an auto audio place and buy a subwoofer. Add in a premade box or build one yourself. Box dimensions will be specced out in the speaker instructions.

If you are looking to do it on the cheap...

http://cgi.ebay.com/PREMIUM-8-DJ-CAR-HOME-SUB-WOOFER-SPEAKER-FREE-GIFT_W0QQitemZ360099018533QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item360099018533&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

and build a box.

If you already have the amp, you can just go to an auto audio place and buy a subwoofer. Add in a premade box or build one yourself. Box dimensions will be specced out in the speaker instructions.

If you are looking to do it on the cheap...

http://cgi.ebay.com/PREMIUM-8-DJ-CAR-HOME-SUB-WOOFER-SPEAKER-FREE-GIFT_W0QQitemZ360099018533QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item360099018533&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=66%3A2|65%3A15|39%3A1|240%3A1318

and build a box.

That was what the best buy twerp told me (auto audio place), it was closed...i'll try again this weekend.

I want to not just fix, but upgrade.

Upgrade?
http://www.parts-express.com/images/item_standard/300-764_s.jpg

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-764

I wish.

you need a sub with 4~3 times the power of one of your speakers.
no more, no less.
if you have a 25 Watt (RMS) speaker, then you need a 75~100W sub.

all about balance.

you need a sub with 4~3 times the power of one of your speakers.
no more, no less.
if you have a 25 Watt (RMS) speaker, then you need a 75~100W sub.

all about balance.

The output for the sub on this amp is 188watts RMS...

FWIW, the satellites are at 69watts RMS

you need a sub with 4~3 times the power of one of your speakers.
no more, no less.
if you have a 25 Watt (RMS) speaker, then you need a 75~100W sub.

all about balance.

Not really.

That depends on the speakers, the sub, and the room, and your ability to make
adjustments.

You want the sub to be a halfway decent match for the room. A big sub will
overload a small room and it will sound terrible. You can reduce the output to accomodate the room or the speakers. But it'd be silly to spend the money. However, a larger sub will usually dig lower, so there's always a tradeoff.

You can also buy or build bass traps to reduce the room resonances to a degree. I did that.

Tim... I linked that as a joke. They have smaller kits. And you can buy a cabinet kit to use with your existing amp if that's what you want.
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=535&CFID=5149549&CFTOKEN=47023722

That was what the best buy twerp told me (auto audio place), it was closed...i'll try again this weekend.

I want to not just fix, but upgrade.

Try Circuit City... but hurry!

That was what the best buy twerp told me (auto audio place), it was closed...i'll try again this weekend.

I want to not just fix, but upgrade.If you really want to upgrade your home-theatre experience, get some of these: http://www.crowsontech.com

Try Circuit City... but hurry!

The one by me is one of the chicago land CC's that went under.

Tim... I linked that as a joke. They have smaller kits. And you can buy a cabinet kit to use with your existing amp if that's what you want.
http://www.parts-express.com/wizards/searchResults.cfm?srchExt=CAT&srchCat=535&CFID=5149549&CFTOKEN=47023722

I'm looking for a way to utilize the amp that my system uses. So i would imagine that leaves me with the option of building my own box and putting my own speaker in it.

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=302-800

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=302-800

What makes that worth $130?

Solid build quality and it uses MDF. If your last sub was fiberboard then this would sound much better. The enclosure quality and dimensions are more important than the subwoofer. If you take a crap speaker and build a good enclosure for it then it'll sound good. If you take a good subwoofer and put it in a junk enclosure that isn't sized properly then it'll sound like junk.

1 cu ft is kinda small. Go big. Get a sonotube.

Solid build quality and it uses MDF. If your last sub was fiberboard then this would sound much better. The enclosure quality and dimensions are more important than the subwoofer. If you take a crap speaker and build a good enclosure for it then it'll sound good. If you take a good subwoofer and put it in a junk enclosure that isn't sized properly then it'll sound like junk.

1 cu ft is kinda small. Go big. Get a sonotube.

My understanding is that MDF is best, but couldn't i buy the raw material for a hell of a lot cheaper than $130?