Customer Journey Part 4 - Need more bass? Adding a subwoofer to DXR12 Speakers.
Congratulations to your successful live gig! The audience was thrilled and the barkeeper told you, that this was the best sounding gig he heard in this pub for a long time. He also said, that a friend of him is looking for a band to play as a supporting act at a bigger event. Because the venue is much more spacious, you think about adding a subwoofer to your system.
Let’s have a look at the Yamaha subs that suit your system – the DXS series.
The DXS series comprises powered Class-D subwoofers ranging from 12’’ to 18’’. For your needs the golden mean DXS15 should be the weapon of choice in regard to power (950 W), frequency range (45 Hz), weight (38 kg) and price. Additionally, it gives you sufficient headroom, if you like to expand your combo with some percussions like a cajon, or even with a small drum kit.
The Integration
After buying a single DXS15 let’s integrate the sub into your existing DXR12 system: The most important thing to know when using an additional sub is, that you need to route the main out signals coming from your mixer to the sub first! The rear panel of the DXS15 features a L/R XLR line input, as well as an L/R Thru output.
Let’s do it step by step:
1. Connecting 1: Connect the mixer’s output signal to the line input and ensure the LEVEL control is set to 0 dB.
2. Set a LPF: The LPF (low-pass filter) cuts the frequency components above the specified threshold. The easiest way is to match this frequency to your DXR’s HPF switch setting.
3. Connecting 2: Connect the DXS15 to your DXR12: Left THRU (DXS15) to INPUT (Left DXR12) and right THRU (DXS15) to INPUT (Right DXR12).
4. D-XSUB: Try the D-XSUB switch for using one of the DSP presets: BOOST for boosting the existent low frequency range to enhance and punch-up the frequency response, XTENDED LF extends the bottom of the low frequency range to enhance broad low-range frequency response.
That’s all.
In some cases it can be helpful to use the POLARITY switch of the DXS15 which selects the subwoofer polarity. In most cases you should set this switch to NORM (NORMAL) but sometimes an INVT (INVERTED) setting may improve the low-range response, depending on the type and location of the speaker system. You can’t do anything wrong, so simply try both settings and select the one that produces the best low-end sound.
And from now on:
Have even more fun with DXR/DXS Yamaha PA systems!
