CS Ensemble II passive sub - Powering it as a stand alone

[T]

The Ensemble II comes with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer.* They
are normally setup with the R & L Satellites BOTH connected to the sub,
which has two pairs of binding posts. (I think it is a single driver,
double wound, but I'm not sure.)

This means normally the Receiver drives three speakers between the L/R
channels.

*(My actual setup includes two Center Channel Plus speakers as the L/R
in the above example & a single Ensemble II driver as the center channel
speaker.)


Things are OK but I have been thinking of driving the sub directly with
the use of a stand alone Amp.

Any thoughts on this? (Of course many will have a recommendation to
scrap what I have and go for something else. But for now I will work
with what I got, thx.)

I have been looking for the Ohms value of the individual speakers to see
if by themselves they might not present enough load to the existing
Rec/Amp, but it's not given in the Cambridge Soundworks product manuals.



Thx,
TBerk

[Rich Clark]

The Ensemble II comes with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer.* \

No it doesn't. It comes with two midrange/tweeter cabinets and a detached
woofer that serves both channels. The bass unit is *not* a subwoofer.

[anip]

Things are OK but I have been thinking of driving the sub directly with
the use of a stand alone Amp.
Any thoughts on this? (Of course many will have a recommendation to scrap
what I have and go for something else. But for now I will work with what I
got, thx.)

Yes. Bad idea. Don't do it. The Ensemble series is integrated, the
crossovers are built in, and they're designed to work as a unit. All you're
really talking about is what's called "bi-amping," and with a modest system
like the Ensemble II there's nothing to be gained. You can't make it louder,
you can't extend the bass, and most importantly you *cannot* use the bass
unit as a subwoofer. Drive it with the subwoofer output of a HT system and
you'll blow it up.

I have been looking for the Ohms value of the individual speakers to see
if by themselves they might not present enough load to the existing
Rec/Amp, but it's not given in the Cambridge Soundworks product manuals.

No more than the separate specs of the individual drivers in any 3-way
speaker design are usually given by any speaker manufacturer.

The Ensemble II is simply a stereo pair of three-way speakers that happen to
share a woofer. If you want a subwoofer, get one. You can add a sub to a
system based on Ensembles just as easily as to any other system.

RichC

[T]

Post by Rich Clark

The Ensemble II comes with two satellite speakers and a subwoofer.* \

No it doesn't. It comes with two midrange/tweeter cabinets and a detached
woofer that serves both channels. The bass unit is *not* a subwoofer.

Got it. It's simple once somebody 'spills the beans' so to speak.

So now I am on the look out for a decent, powered, subwoofer.


TBerk