The Official Acoustic Audio Subwoofer Owners Thread

[Josereyna]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

I had plans to build a new 15" subwoofer. After some search, I reached the conclusion that it was cheaper to buy an Acoustic Audio subwoofer from Ebay and upgrade it or use the parts. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, I managed to win an auction for an AA HD-SUB 15 for $165. That is an amazing price for a 15" subwoofer considering that the shipping is free. I waited until the last few minutes before I placed my bid. It was delivered in less than one week.

After using it for a couple of days, I took it apart and completely upgraded it. I put a $400 driver in it. I had to add some support to the cabinet as the new driver is very big and heavy. I also added some polyfill & foam to the inside. The results is one bad and scary monster. Surprisingly, the AA amplifier is doing a great job of creating awesome bass in the room.

This is how the upgraded subwoofer looks now:

Attachment 28166

P.S. I ended up with a brand new 15" original driver for the AA subwoofer. If anybody can use it, send me a PM.

hey big daddy, in terms of performance what does your new sub compare to?(Ed, SVS) how low does it go?

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by Josereyna

hey big daddy, in terms of performance what does your new sub compare to?(Ed, SVS) how low does it go?

For less than half the price, the AA sub performs very well. Where else can you buy a 15" subwoofer for $165 and no shipping cost?

Go back to Post #4 of this thread. I replaced the driver of my AA HD-SUB12 with the ED driver that is used in their A2-300 suwbwoofer. The frequency response graphs before and after are included there.

The new AA subs have improved amplifiers. I measured the frequency response of the new AA HD-SUB15 out of the box without any modifications. The result is pretty good.

HD-SUB15Frequency.jpg

After a few days, I removed the original driver and replaced it with a much better and bigger Planet Audio driver. I had to increase the size of the openning and use two spacer rings to fit the new driver. I also added a little more bracing to the inside of the cabinet and used more polyfill for better dampening. Remarkably, the amplifier performs very well. The following is the frequency response. It is as good as it gets.

HD-SUB15PlanetAudioFrequency.jpg

Remember that the results are not in an anechoic chamber, although my room resembles one. I have 12 bass traps in the room plus a lot of acoustic foams on the walls.

[bigpadg]

After much online researching and given my current price constraints, I bid on and won this sub over the weekend and it was delivered Wed. Quick! Careful unpacking revealed 3 of the 4 spindly grille posts broken off. A quick email to DD and replacements on the way. I verified sub operation before opening to check inside and was glad to find adequate polyfill securely affixed therein. Pleased to find the woofer now mounts with eight screws - not 6, gasket sealer in place, and the terminals weren't soldered, amen. Have only done some early break-in and testing - hours of sub test tones off YouTube - finding optimal location, determining phase switch currently best inverted at 180. Have yet to exceed two-thirds gain, as at 0db for all three on the Denon AVR2802 crossed at 80hz, it matches my Monitor Audio Silver RS6's. Only music so far (I'm 70/30 music), I'll post more soon after I can experience HT, but my early impressions are positive, especially after installing the 1F/2M RCA splitter (.25c from Monoprice) on the low-level inputs boosted db noticeably and allowed a gain reduction. Bass sounds tight enough, deep and full, not boomy; no audible artifacts from the cabinet, which is attractive, BTW. Good performance at a great price makes the HD-SUB12 a good value indeed.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by bigpadg

Good performance at a great price makes the HD-SUB12 a good value indeed.

I just got my HD-SUB12 a couple of months ago and couldn't be happier. I think it's a great sub for a ridiculously low price. Also, I think the sound quality did improve over the course of the first month or so, as every thing flexed and got settled in.

[jfreeman420]

Big Daddy, can you tell me the impedance of the original AA 15" sub? Those car subs have dual 4ohm voice coils but some have the option of dual 2ohm. Did you run the vc's in series to make an 8ohm circuit or will the amp handle 4ohms?

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by jfreeman420

Big Daddy, can you tell me the impedance of the original AA 15" sub? Those car subs have dual 4ohm voice coils but some have the option of dual 2ohm. Did you run the vc's in series to make an 8ohm circuit or will the amp handle 4ohms?

The impedance of the original driver is 4 ohms. That is written on its back. It is single voice coil. The amplifier can handle 4 ohms.

[jet757f]

Im new to this forum but have done reading here before.

I just got the Acoustic Audio RWSUB-15 off Ebay.
It is replacing a Sony 12" powered subwoofer.

I have a question about the best way to hookup.
My Pioneer 5010 TV only has one Subwoofer RCA connector in the back.
It is alright to run just one RCA cable to the subwoofer using either the Left or Right? I already tried it this way and it seems alright but just wondering if I will improve the sound if it is connected a different way.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by jet757f

Im new to this forum but have done reading here before.

I just got the Acoustic Audio RWSUB-15 off Ebay.
It is replacing a Sony 12" powered subwoofer.

I have a question about the best way to hookup.
My Pioneer 5010 TV only has one Subwoofer RCA connector in the back.
It is alright to run just one RCA cable to the subwoofer using either the Left or Right? I already tried it this way and it seems alright but just wondering if I will improve the sound if it is connected a different way.

Welcome!
I didn't know that TVs had subwoofer outputs.
The way you are running it is fine, if it's working, but you can get a splitter(Y-cable) to plug in both inputs on the sub.

It gave me a big increase in sound coming from the sub. You can leave the cable you are already using plugged in to your TV or receiver, but on the end that goes to the sub, you need a single female to two males. Plug the end of your cable into the female end of the splitter, then both males to the sub. You can get a nice beefy gold tipped splitter for probably $5-$10.

[jet757f]

Thanks for the info. I will look at those cables.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by jet757f

Thanks for the info. I will look at those cables.

I didn't think it would make that much of a difference, but it really did boost the amount of signal going to my sub quite a bit!

[nate3579]

I just got my AA HD SUB10 but I hooked it up and ran the set up on my receiver but the bass was very quiet and rough(this is with the gain on the sub at 50%) I put a movie on and nothing different. I turned it 75-80% on the gain. The bass was there but extremely quiet and distorted. I cant think of any user error so it seems that it must be a bad sub. Anyone have any suggestions? thanks for any help.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by nate3579

I just got my AA HD SUB10 but I hooked it up and ran the set up on my receiver but the bass was very quiet and rough(this is with the gain on the sub at 50%) I put a movie on and nothing different. I turned it 75-80% on the gain. The bass was there but extremely quiet and distorted. I cant think of any user error so it seems that it must be a bad sub. Anyone have any suggestions? thanks for any help.

Make sure you don't have the sub level on your receiver turned up too loud. I would recommend setting it flat (-0-). Also make sure you don't have a faulty cable, that sounds like it could be. Good Luck!

[nate3579]

Originally Posted by frogmort

Make sure you don't have the sub level on your receiver turned up too loud. I would recommend setting it flat (-0-). Also make sure you don't have a faulty cable, that sounds like it could be. Good Luck!

Do I have to use the splitter? I am just using the single cable and I tried it with both left and right outputs on the sub. It sounds blown or something with the amp. There is hardly any volume. I called deep discount and it will cost me almost the price of the sub in shipping charges to use the warranty and get a replacement. I think I am just one of the unlucky ones. Maybe a better quality sub would of been the route to take. I was pretty excited to hear this sub after all the hype.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by nate3579

Do I have to use the splitter? I am just using the single cable and I tried it with both left and right outputs on the sub. It sounds blown or something with the amp. There is hardly any volume. I called deep discount and it will cost me almost the price of the sub in shipping charges to use the warranty and get a replacement. I think I am just one of the unlucky ones. Maybe a better quality sub would of been the route to take. I was pretty excited to hear this sub after all the hype.

Read post #3408
I really hope that it's not damaged. The only thing I can think of is to check all your cables, connections, and receiver settings. Also, make sure you have the crossover on the sub turned all the way up, and the volume on the sub around 12:00, and set your sub crossover in your receiver to around 80hz, and the sub level on the receiver to zero/flat.
If you do have a damaged subwoofer, I would call them and see if they can't help you out. It seems like I remember reading a few posts on here where they just sent out a new sub without making them return the old one, or paid the shipping to return it. Be persistent, but polite. I hope this helps.

[frogmort]

I just noticed you said "I am just using the single cable and I tried it with both left and right outputs on the sub." I don't know if that was a typo or not, but it should be the input on the sub. Some of their subs have inputs and outputs. Make sure you are using the input.

[nate3579]

so i tested the speaker with a different sub and i am almost certain that the speaker on the AA hdsub10 is bad. I dont know if they will send me a new speaker. I dont want to send the entire unit back for the warranty because it will cost 50 bucks each way. If anyone has any suggestions on replacement drivers that will make this box and air space please let me know.

[frogmort]

Originally Posted by nate3579

so i tested the speaker with a different sub and i am almost certain that the speaker on the AA hdsub10 is bad. I dont know if they will send me a new speaker. I dont want to send the entire unit back for the warranty because it will cost 50 bucks each way. If anyone has any suggestions on replacement drivers that will make this box and air space please let me know.

I'm sorry to hear that. Try calling them to see if they will make it right.
It couldn't hurt.

[basserx]

I just won an Acoustic Audio, HD12 for a great price and it should fit nicely with my system in the sub 80Hz range.

[JJ]

I want to let everyone know that my AA HD-10 is still in great working order, 2 years after I purchased it and added it to my system.

[basserx]

Got the AA-HD12 sub all set up i wasn't to thrilled with it at first, so Ive moved it to another location and tweaked some settings on my A/V and well-la. Now to open it up and fill it up with some batting i purchased at Wally world and get it broke-in.