Frequently Asked Questions

We know. You have questions. Lots of questions. Don't worry, that is completely normal. Most people get in touch with us to discuss before purchasing a full speaker system. We'd love to hear from you, so feel free to use the chat in the lower right corner, or the contact form at the bottom of this page!

Below we have collected a number of the more common questions we receive. The questions are divided into two sections, one for our active speaker systems, and one for our subwoofers.

Sigberg Audio Active Speaker Systems

I already have pretty good speakers, but I am wondering if I would get an improvement with your system.

That's a good question! And the answer is very likely to be a big yes! Few speakers have the dynamic capacity, bass response and clarity as our speaker systems. Additionally, few speakers integrate so well in normal rooms.

We'd love to discuss this with you, please contact us via the chat in the lower right corner or the contact form at the bottom of this page. 

What is the best way to connect the system to my preamp or source?

If you have at least two subwoofers, we recommend using XLR to the speakers, and then take advantage of the XLR Through output to connect the subwoofers via XLR from the speakers. This is both the easiest and best way to hook up your Sigberg Audio system.

If you only have one subwoofer, you need to feed both left and right channel to the sub. In this case, you can still use XLR to your speakers. For the sub, it might be easiest to use RCA from your source/preamp. You can either run a stereo cable (left+right), or you can sum this with a Y-split and just run a single cable to the subwoofer. Either is fine. Some source/preamps have a dedicated, single RCA subwoofer output too.

Won't the extra AD/DA conversion when using the RCA or XLR input hurt sound quality?

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Our speakers use high quality AD/DA converters from AKM that are audibly transparent, and if you already have a dedicated/external DAC, the sound signature of this DAC will be retained when connecting via XLR or RCA. Think of the onboard DSP in our speakers as a digital crossover, as that is what it is. To put it this way: When you send an analog signal to our speakers, the processing result in less distortion and efficiency loss than a traditional analog crossover. 

What do I have to do exactly to make your speaker systems sound good in my room?

There are several answers to this, depending on your competence, and/or willingness to learn a bit about EQ and acoustics. 

Level 0:
As a minimum you should take some care to place the speakers and subwoofers in a good position in your room in relation to your listening position. The distance between the speakers should be at least as far as the speakers are from you, even wider is good if possible. Point the speakers straight ahead for maximum soundstage, toe them slightly in towards you (0-15 degrees) for a wider sweetspot (if you want optimal sound for more than one person).

Invest in one or preferrably two subwoofers, and reach out to us to get help on where to place them.

Even if you do only this and nothing else, our speaker system will sound better than basically any passive speaker out there! You also have access to a button at the back of each speaker that will allow you to adjust the energy in the treble to your preference and acoustics. 

Level 1: 
Use our guide to get a rough reading of the bass response in your room, and adjust the EQ in the subwoofers to account for this. This is not difficult, and takes maybe a couple of hours out of your evening for a really good result.

You now probably have really good, tight bass, and the rest of the frequency range will also clean up when doing this.

Level 2:
Invest in components with automatic room correction that will help adjust and optimize the sound of your system. Popular room correction technologies: Dirac, Audyssey and Trinnov.

Level 3:
Purchase a measurement microphone, and teach yourself how to measure your system and equalize it manually. Popular ways to do this is with the MiniDSP UMIK-1 microphone and the free measurement software REW.

You need to learn how to do the measurements yourself (great tutorials are available online), but we would be happy to help analyze the measurements and suggest EQ adjustments.

I'm confused by how many or which type of subwoofers I should add to my Sigberg Audio speakers. 

For this question, please refer to our subwoofer guide. Also feel free to reach out to discuss!

 

Sigberg Audio Subwoofers

If I purchase Sigberg Audio subwoofers (either separately or as part of a speaker system), what's the best location for them?

This is room dependent. The only way to find the ideal position is to experiment. That being said, you often have a limited number of practical alternatives, so then it is what it is. You are welcome to send us a rough sketch or floor plan of your room / apartment / house with indications of where you plan to put subwoofers. Then we would be happy to discuss and share some recommendations.

We'd also be happy to help you get them dialed in after your purchase.

I have a traditional stereo system with no built-in support for subwoofers. I also want my speakers to play full range sound. Is there a way to integrate your subwoofers in a good way?

Yes, but only if you are willing to reconsider your current setup. When your speakers are left to play full range, the speakers and the subwoofer will play the same frequencies. And while we may help you configure the subwoofer to play perfect bass, the overall response will be less than optimal, as we have no control of the speakers. 

To get a good result, you need a preamplifier with proper support for subwoofers. This will allow you to high pass the loudspeakers. This means the deepest bass is removed from the signal that is sent to the speakers. This way the subwoofers can do their job properly. If you would consider doing this, feel free to contact us for some recommendations on gear that could help you achieve this.

 The Inkognito subwoofers seem to be designed to be located with the driver playing against a wall or the floor. Won't that hurt performance?

Short answer: No, it is actually better!

Long answer: Bass frequencies spread omnidirectionally below 150-200hz, so the sound spreads just as well directly through the cabinet. A wavelength of 100hz is 3.4 meters long, 50hz is twice that. So the cabinet walls are essentially invisible to the sub bass frequencies. This is why you mainly hear the bass if someone in a different apartment (or a passing car) plays loud music, as the lower frequencies pass through the walls of your apartment/house, while higher frequencies are more effectively blocked.

Our design actually achieves boundary coupling with the wall if placed close to it (~3-5cm) or floor (distance when horizontal is 3cm), so while it intuitively would make sense that you get more sound if the driver is away from the wall/floor, in reality the opposite is true. The frequency response will also be more even, as the subwoofer will become one with the closest floor or wall with regards to reflections. So there is one less boundary in the room that interfaces with the sub. 

 

Still have questions? Reach out through the chat in the lower right corner or use the contact form below! You can also email directly to support@sigbergaudio.no