Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Creative way to have 7.1 with analog sub and no OA08 Card with 861

I'm looking to experiment with a modern analog sub for movie watching ONLY. I don't use a sub in my system for music as I have 8k mains. My DVD player is connected to the system using HDMI and a HD621.

The player also has analog outputs for 7.1 My thought is to use the subwoofer output on the player to watch movies and play around with the placement of the sub. If the experiment proves successful = it's more of a room frequency response test vs. equipment test, then I will purchase the analog output card and do it right.

Has anyone tried this? Please remember... this is for the .1 channel watching movies only not for any other listening including Trifield.

Thanks for any help/advice.

S.R.

It could be possible but you have to put both in sync as the delay would probably not be the same between the two. Possible you can ad delay to the subwoofer in the DVD player settings.
But it would take a pretty big subwoofer to keep up with the 8000's?

If it's about acoustics, using 4 (smaller) subs sounds amazing. There is a Harman Kardon white paper on multiple subwoofers online.

One problem would be that the analog output of the DVD player that you would be feeding the subwoofer from is not subject to volume control as it is at a fixed level.

Bruce, thanks for pointing out something that I should have thought about before posting the question. Since I'm really trying to see if the sub will "move" the room during a movie, I guess I can adjust the volume of the sub once I have the system at the desired listening level. If the results are satisfactory I can then invest in the card and have the variable output covered. Thanks for your practical guidance and kind response to a knucklehead idea.

Your Oppo Bdp 83 has an analog volume control so you can change the volume of the sub by remote seating comfortably on your couch

Keeping those in sync at the correct levels should be great fun.

True, its kind of a hassle. The timing might be off due to differences in latency between The Oppo and 861 / 8k combo which can cause cancellation or blurry bass but the Oppo has the possibility in its setup to ad some delay by adding distance to the subwoofer.

But as the Dutch saying goes "where there is a will, there is a way"

I'm going to give it a shot. Does anyone have any idea how active the .1 channel is during dialog in a movie. My assumption (which is dangerous) is that it is only used for specific passages in the film. Meaning,during a dialog only scene there would be zero output to that channel. If that's not the case (and i'm about to find out) then I can already hear Bruce snickering down in the Carolinas...

With speech only there should be no output unless the centerspeaker is set to small in a "normal" setup.
Unless there is some background rumble like in a speech scene on the street