Bose Acoustimass 6 paired with 8" energy sub???

I don't know where to start with this one.

First of all, I need clarification. You're using an Onkyo to power the Bose cubes and you're using the sub pre-out for a PASSIVE 'sub?'

WRT your Onkyo running hot -- those cubes are a big bag of crap, but the issue is made even worse by the fact that they have low impedance. So, run-of-the-mill AVR's that can't drive low-impedance spkrs will end up having to use a lot of juice to drive those paper cone ear coffins. And, of course, you're turning the volume all the way up to make matters worse.

The cubes with the Bose are designed to work up to 200 Hz. Many subwoofers will not go high enough (200 Hz) to blend well with the cubes. If I understand you correctly, you would be running the Energy sub instead of the bass module from Bose.

The other problem is what you noted: you may already be running out of power. Hard to say because the Bose system is so much of an unknown.

I also don't know how you wire it up to use the Energy sub and the Bose cubes.

On the back of the Energy sub is there a knob that has 40 at one end and 150 on the other? Or a knob with slightly different numbers?

Don't give up on the Bose. If that is all you have to work with right now, lots of people have to save up to get better equipment.

The question for now is whether you would be wasting your money on the Energy sub.

So, your plan is to use both the bass module and an 8 inch powered sub. At the moment, I don't see why you couldn't do that. $30 for a sub that works perfectly and is not really beat up might work.

I imagine you could call Bose and ask if there is any reason it won't work.

Last thing. The 8 inch sub is not going to go much deeper than the Bose module. You will likely end up with a lot of 45-65 Hz response with the Energy and the Bose bass module.

Are you certain the BOSE sub unit simply passes the power provided by your receiver through to the speakers? Or does the sub unit itself actually provide the power for the speakers? I presume you have been running your speaker channels in your ONKYO as LARGE. Did you have it set up as having NO SUB or not?

Do you want to use the Bose sub and new sub simultaneously or not? As spyboy said, the cubes probably do not perform low enough to be simply used with the Energy sub alone. But it would depend upon several things. He already asked how high you can set its crossover. I doubt it, but can its crossover be bypassed? And what is the maximum crossover setting your ONKYO is capable of?

Chances are, you will need to use both subs. Whether your ONKYO is what is powering the cubes or not, is irrelevant, but I'd still be interested to know. So, leave everything connected the way it is connected, now. Connect the new sub to the ONKYO's subwoofer output and turn the sub's own crossover knob up as high as it will go. Set the ONKYO up as if it DOES have a subwoofer (subwoofer=YES). Then, if it were me, I WOULD change the speaker channels' size setting to SMALL and experiment with different crossover settings. Even though the new sub may not go much lower than the BOSE sub, this will help to reduce some redundancy that would otherwise be there. You'll end up with the new sub covering the lowest stuff, the cubes covering the higher stuff, and the BOSE sub (supposedly) covering everything in between.

So, the sub unit is driven by the receiver's LARGE front channels and it passes front channel output above a particular frequency to the front channel cubes? I guess the other channels are set to SMALL, correct? Does the sub unit have to be plugged in, or not?

What Acoustimass system is this?

Yes, it should be set up with NO SUB. I think you need to learn what "LFE" means.

LFE simply stands for Low Frequency Effects. Miles Davis, why don't you help him out instead of avoiding answering his questions?

Because it's best if he learns about it on his own. He'd probably pick up some other stuff, too.

You didn't help him either. You just told him what it stands for. LOL. And for someone who knows nothing about it, it doesn't just "simply" stand for Low Frequency Effects.

No one criticized you. Sorry if you felt that way. Most people do enthusiastically set out on that path to learn an answer. I assumed (I think, correctly) that you were the same. Getting there is half the fun!

To confirm for everyone else: The bass module on these speakers is completely passive.

Anyway, I highly suggest adding a powered sub and allowing your receiver to set a crossover for the LFE channel. This will reduce the power requirements on the receiver by not attempting to amplify the low frequencies. Also, the bass modules on these Acoustimass systems distort badly at super low frequencies and at higher volumes, as I found out doing test tones on my own Acoustimass 3 setup. When you get below 40 Hz or so, it stops playing the correct frequency and just starts playing this flabby distorted note that isn't the correct frequency at all. They also use 5" drivers if I remember correctly, so they really can't handle much volume by themselves without distorting. You'll probably find your low bass will get a lot cleaner when the receiver sends it all to a real sub.

I'd suggest a bigger sub, though, since an 8" probably won't play too much lower than the passive bass module. You should probably plan on putting the bass module and sub next to each other (or on top of each other) to reduce phase problems.

As others have mentioned, the Acoustimass systems are very power hungry and inefficient. 100 watts per channel is probably the low end for clean power. High power requirements and wimpy output before distortion? Blech! Those of us who were fooled into buying Bose live and learn.

Which is what I said, too. Whether it is powered or not, in order to utilize an additional powered sub, you would do it the same way. Set all your speakers to SMALL. This should, by default turn the subwoofer back to ON in the receiver. Connect the powered sub to the receiver's subwoofer output. Turn the new sub's own crossover up as high as it will go (or bypass it if you have that capability). You should, more or less, be able to calibrate everything conventionally. If you can adjust the BOSE sub's volume independently, you can fiddle with that to adjust the midbass to your liking.

sivadselim,

Are you now bothering t.day?
HAHAHA
Just kidding

No, I think I am probably bothering Ironmike86. But you're next.

Yeah I saw that too....

Have fun...
See ya!

A very good recommendation. Now, i'm by no means an audiophile nor a high-end system owner (except perhaps my computer which is high-end, actually it's the most expensive thing in my house), but i like music. And to get things done cheaper, i do a lot of DIY stuff. After all i'm just 17 and have a lot to learn, so why not learn by actually doing something that's useful for myself as well. So i build computers and subwoofer amps.

I have a pair of 8"s which act as woofers in 2-way speaker cabinets and a 12" on its own running on an amp i built myself. The two 8" woofers do great on midbass but can't touch the really low notes, where the 12" makes its presence felt.

In the OP's system the Bose speakers do a good job in delivering midbass but distort at low bass. Adding another 8" would mean even more midbass but still no low end, which would make everything sound boomy and unnatural.

Find a decent 12" and you will be much happier.