Bass Foundation Subwoofer

Shown: satin black plywood

The Bass Foundation Active Bandpass Pedestal Subwoofer

... seamless integration with just about any speaker ...

"I have ... two pairs of excellent subwoofers... perfectly dialed-in ... they extended the bass .. but never filled in the power foundation and did not transform the small monitors into the illusion of a full range floor-standing model.” like the NSMTs. (Terry London, Stereotimes)

The design of our Bass Foundation subwoofer is inspired by the research, development and refinement of our 15EXP subwoofer which dates back to the 1990s and more recently the research and design of the subwoofer in our Model 100 speaker.

In his review of the 15EXP subwoofer in Enjoy the Music magazine, Dr. Jeff Rabin noted that, "... when it comes to integration, few subwoofers integrate as well as the 15EXP, and the ability of the 15EXP to play the "the lower registers” (that is to pressurize the room) was ..”downright menacing."

Francisco Duran of Positive Feedback magazine noted that the drum whacks produced by an earlier version of Model 100 were "... the deepest most powerful ... drum whacks ..” that he had ever heard."

In his review of the Model 100, Terry London noted the bass produced by he Model 100 in his “..vast listening space was somewhat shocking."

Others who have heard the Model 100 such as Barany commenting on Audiogon Forum have described the bass of the Model 100 as “otherworldly” and the best bass they have heard.

Most subwoofers work on the principle of bass replacement with the subwoofer producing the lowest bass frequencies and the main speakers or satellite speakers producing the frequencies above the subwoofer's. This approach is inspired by the need to play the speakers at very high volume and to allow the main and satellite speakers to handle power better.

The approach we prefer is to use the subwoofer to reinforce the bass performance. It is inspired by our understanding of psycho-acoustics and bass reproduction. That is because most of the desire to drive loudspeakers very loud is driven by a desire to pressurize the air in the room. Secondly, using crossovers to partition bass frequencies between the subwoofer and satellite speakers tends to create discontinues and phase irregularities in bass reproduction.

For sure, the Bass Foundation subwoofer is active and full featured and is outfitted with a 6 dB per octave high pass crossover to partition bass response which may be necessary for playing the system at very high volume.

However, our bass reinforcement approach requires a subwoofer that has flat bass response over a wide range of bass frequencies and the best approach is to use a bandpass design. Our design choices result in a subwoofer that will seamlessly integrate with just about any speaker from the smallest micro monitor to large floorstanders.

STANDARD FEATUTRES

Active Bandpass Subwoofer
Modified 250 Watt amplifier
10 inch long-throw treated paper cone woofer
Auto-on power switch controlled by input signal
Continuously variable crossover from 40 Hz to 180 Hz at 24 dB/octave
Frequency response: variable +/- 3 dBs 24 Hz to 145 Hz
Volume, phase and crossover controls to adjust output
Overload and thermal and fuse protection with output relay
Gold plated RCA line level input and output connectors
Removable IEC type power cord
Discrete TO-3P output devices
THD: Less than 0.05% S/N ratio:
Greater than 85dB
Power requirements: Switchable, 120/240 VAC, 50/60 Hz
Shipping weight: 55 pounds each
Warranty: 5-year limited warranty.
The front of the cabinet is slanted 2 degrees, from the bottom to the top to improve phase alignment between the subwoofer and the partnering monitor and to eliminate standing waves in the cabinet.
Standard Finishes: satin black.
Other finishes available at additional cost.

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: (W X H X D) 12 X 25 X 12 inches

Shipping Weight: 54 pounmds

Warranty: 5-year limited