[Dirtyhippy]

I have a Sony 7.1 surround amp, I used to use in a 5 speaker config (no Sub), but I moved house and have less space so now I use it simply as a stereo amp on my TV/BDD/Sat.

Will a 2.1 set up work I just want some extra bass to accompany my small-ish stereo speakers, so thinking of getting a Sub. Will it work?

[chrisjr]

Does the Sony require an active or passive sub? That will obviously influence any recommendations for a model of sub.

But there should be no reason why a sub shouldn't work. If the amp filters the low frequency information from the stereo pair and feeds it to the sub channel then it would add something. However if it only ever outputs to the sub whatever would be in the .1 channel of a surround mix and nothing in stereo mode it might not do anything.

You might need to consult the manual to see what options there are for adding a sub. The other option might be to try bigger stereo speakers. Even some quite compact speakers can give decent bass. For example I use these

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...co-2010i-graph

in my 5.1 set up as the rears and the amount of bass they kick out is pretty impressive for what is a relatively small speaker. Though obviously no where near the kick in the guts the sub I use can provide

http://www.richersounds.com/product/...co-2070i-graph

[Deacon1972]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirtyhippy

I have a Sony 7.1 surround amp, I used to use in a 5 speaker config (no Sub), but I moved house and have less space so now I use it simply as a stereo amp on my TV/BDD/Sat.

Will a 2.1 set up work I just want some extra bass to accompany my small-ish stereo speakers, so thinking of getting a Sub. Will it work?

Adding a decent sub should provide the bass you are looking for - amp settings should be......

Front Left/Right = Small
Center = No
Surround Left/Right = No
Surround Back Left/Right = No
Sub = Yes

If your budget is on the low side you may be better off getting a pair of bookshelf speakers, cheap/cheerful entry model sub's will not give you quality bass, they are basdically boom boxes, whereas a pair of half decent HiFi speakers may not go down as far but the quality would be better. If you are not bothered about preowned have a look on eBay, some good deals can be found.