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Strange but true subwoofer tales...

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Posted on October 4, 2014 at 13:00:23
Mark Man
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: MN
Joined: January 31, 2010
Subs are Monitor Audio FB210's, (active front firing 10", Passive down firing 10", front ported), have always been a good match with my 1.6's and blended well...fast little sub 250 watt A/B plate amp...When I had my HT set up, had 4 of these...not the deepest subs, but enough for me...(these were more seamless and tuneful than my friends Rel Storm III, Rel went quite a bit deeper thou)…

3.7's for 10 months without subs, very content with the fast tight bass I was getting, no bloat and no float...can semi-feel the bass at 85+db’s…no outline or edges…coherent…in my room 33-35…

Added my old subs about a month+ ago...observations'...in HK/Limage placement; 43% into the room…

First placement...Subs flushed out with the face of the speaker front firing, (as per JBen and others), 6" from the tweeter...this really surprised me...my mid-highs got fuzzy sounding, bad, with no extension...gaps in the sound stage, to the point I thought there might be something wrong in the rig…

Picture shows the Second placement, front firing where the fuzziness was eliminated, 16" back is where this worked best...this was the most visceral placement...but still had a little float N bloat and fairly localized at times...

Next was 4' behind, where it was at about a 45 degree angle towards the out site wall…This was by far the best placement overall…blended the best…
deepest, tightest location...

Now, the settings, (see pic); crossover is at about 48+/- kHz …gain is just past 8 o’clock, with 7 being 0…Phase is switched at be speaker terminals with Hi-Z off the amp, (CJ Pre, Phase needs to be inverted)…anything past these setting did not work anywhere in the room…

TV/Movies…with the 3db boost on for video…sense of space, an atmosphere more engaging…width, depth and height increased by 5%-10%, material depended…pushes the image forward on the edges, increases the space directly behind the speaker…vocals thickened not always for the better…

Find it more enjoyable, but not crazy about it…Volume TV wars effect this allot…Cutting the 3db boost…helped it in overall sound…things were reeled in, but not as engaging…
My whole rig, does not cease to surprise me with 3D spatial cues, just off 2-channel analog outs from TV/DVD…really nice…

I have played with sub(s) for years…stereo subs have always been much more significant improvement than just a single sub…IMHO

3db cut on for music, zoomed in, you liv with the settings for everything else…

Overall it is 5%-15% improvement on 6-7 out of 10 songs…playing random in 10 song chunk’s…
Here is the rub...the 3 or 4 songs that sounded bad, sounded really bad “usually”…it is material dependent, but the warts were on the subs and not the source…just cannot keep-up and bottom out on deeper material…

Is the Juice worth the squeeze??? I do not know as of yet…

I am going to turn them off for a while and see if I am missing what I have been hearing…sense of space with more frequency depth…

3.7’s, with no subs, in my room…has a firm definition of the bass, with more of cut, than a roll-off in the deeper register…toe tapping, coherently good sound…

IF I had more SQ/CU FT and non-condo living…I would put a pair of Rel G-2’s on the short list…
There it hangs…
Thanks
Mark











 

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RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 4, 2014 at 19:29:14
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
Is the second pic the one with the best results? it does not show the 45deg angle.

Are you saying that in the best position you had the following:
1. Increased 3D imaging
2. Voices with more body but slightly thickened?
3. There was a loss of clarity with the bass boost but less impact without it
4. Your woofers seemed to be insufficient?

I don't think you need to stretch to RELs, try a pair of Dayton Titanic sealed subwoofer from parts express. SVS also has good deals on Subs, but I don't think they have a sealed one.

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 5, 2014 at 11:02:29
Mark Man
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: MN
Joined: January 31, 2010
Sadie...ok I am not yelling, my responses are in caps...
Thanks for chiming in Sadie...

Are you saying that in the best position you had the following:

1. Increased 3D imaging...YES..BUT NOT CONSISTENTLY...

2. Voices with more body but slightly thickened? YES...MATERIAL DEPENDENT...AGAIN

3. There was a loss of clarity with the bass boost but less impact without it...YES...THIS ONE IS BIG TRADE-OFF...

4. Your woofers seemed to be insufficient?...YES, THAT WAS THE GENERAL CONCLUSION...WORKED FINE WITH 1.6'S IN MEDIUM ROOM, NO WHERE NEAR AS WELL WITH THE 3.7'S...

The reason I showed the settings on the subs...was that they are "barely" turned up...

You are correct on the subs angle towards the outside walls...it is more like 35-40 degrees...me bad on the 45 degrees...still playing with this some...

When I said strange but true, it was when the subs were flush with the front of the speakers...it had such a NEGATIVE effect in the upper register...my small brain attributes this to the dispersion of the ribbon tweeter...I was curious if anyone else has heard this effect???

Mentioning the REL G2's, is pie-in-the-sky at this point...if my living situation, small condo, was different and I had a big enough room, the G2's are on the short list...NOT happening in current habitat...new DAC and Server are next on the major upgrades...last year upgrades were, Pre, Amp and Speakers...

thanks
Mark

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 5, 2014 at 14:05:01
Satie
Audiophile

Posts: 5426
Joined: July 6, 2002
Not surprised by the bad treble performance with the woofers in between the speakers. Remember that they are there to move lots of air and their output is going to interact with the direct sound from the tweeters right nearby. I would not be surprised if you had observed the tweeters moving when there is no treble content. - they would be modulated by the big pressure differences the woofer cones are introducing.

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 5, 2014 at 15:35:51
Swamis Cat
Audiophile

Posts: 272
Location: Illinois
Joined: September 7, 2013
Thanks for sharing, Mark. I really enjoy these types of posts.

I am currently running my sub closer to me than my main speakers. I then adjust the phase for optimal results. This seems to result in consistently tighter bass than when I run it beside them or behind. Indeed, I have my sub closest, my DWMs next closest, and then the speakers. This seems to align everything for optimal cohesiveness.

Every room is different, but just thought I would continue the sharing....

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 5, 2014 at 16:29:21
Mark Man
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: MN
Joined: January 31, 2010
Thank you SC...

You have 2-DWM's and one Sub? or Two?

I always appreciate your input; you have really danced in your room, with all the different elements...getting your bass just right...lots of variables to deal with...

Do you have a pic or what your current set-up looks like?

How do you like the DWM's?
thanks again
Mark

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 6, 2014 at 17:58:02
RickeyM
Audiophile

Posts: 2208
Location: East Coast
Joined: March 15, 2003
Something I haven't seen mentioned. Have you tried positioning the subs asymmetrically?

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 6, 2014 at 18:57:20
Mark Man
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: MN
Joined: January 31, 2010
Thanks Ricky...

You are correct I have not tried that...
Any suggestions where to start??
Thanks
Mark

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 7, 2014 at 05:31:12
Swamis Cat
Audiophile

Posts: 272
Location: Illinois
Joined: September 7, 2013
Hi Mark,

I have one Rythmik sub, with a goal of getting a second one next year. I have two DWMs, which I initially bought when I only owned the IIIa's. The IIIs really needed the mid and upper bass help in my room. The 3.7i's are much stronger in this range and so I have gone back and forth with using them or not with pros and cons each way. As of this week I am using them for the punch and power they add.

Unlike a sub (which you feel more than hear on most music) you clearly hear the DWMs, and not as separate sources of sound but in substantially punchier and (if set right) smoother bass. They also give more freedom in positioning of the mains.

That said, since moving to the newer model, I have been unable to get Limage to work at all. Unlike the IIIa's, the new guys only work in my room with the tweets pointed directly with laser focus at my ears. Oddly enough, for the first time in a quarter century, I actually prefer the tweets out as well. Strange and certainly room specific.

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 7, 2014 at 10:26:35
Mark Man
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: MN
Joined: January 31, 2010
I respect the amount of time and patience it takes with so many variables, optimizing the free upgrade working with your listening room...If the term "room-tune" is actually a thing, I believe it is, your treated-room is a prime example, I would love to hear your rig/room, imagining the bass energy involvement...Pass Pre/Amp...nice...

I got lucky with my room working so well in the HK/Limage set-up...
go figure...12'W X 18'L...6' apart...8'-4", (43%), off the front wall...

Thanks again SC...
Mark

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 7, 2014 at 18:16:55
RickeyM
Audiophile

Posts: 2208
Location: East Coast
Joined: March 15, 2003
For instance, put one sub in the "second" placement and the other in the "third" placement. Then switch. Moving the "second placement" sub to the "third placement" position and the "third.." to the "second" position.

Failing success at that, you could try the walk around method. Temporarily place the subs next to your chair. Then you walk around in the room to find the spot the bass seems best in. Pick two of these spots and place one sub in each. Oh yeah, keep some notes on placement so over time you aren't re-testing the same spots.
Good luck

 

thanks..., posted on October 7, 2014 at 20:20:44
Mark Man
Audiophile

Posts: 1079
Location: MN
Joined: January 31, 2010
Have heard of the walk around method, just have never tried it...

If you look at my pics, I have quite a bit blue painters tape on the floor...some of those are Maggie placement and some are sub placements...

I have kept a pretty good grid and the results documented...my notes have been ongoing from when I moved in last September...

My evaluations have not been done quickly, when changes are subtle, I will let it ride 2-6 weeks before changing things...I typically will follow my steps backwards to confirm my findings...As of yesterday, my subs are turned off...I was listening today, got up and checked to make sure the subs were shut-off, (my old feeble brain plays tricks on me at times), because the bass seemed unusually deep today...the 3.7's are no slouch without any bass augmentation...tight, tuneful and fast...

The subs add more of 3D sense of space, more visceral presentation, but it is such a fine line between bass and bloat...as the pictures show, they are barely turned up...

Thanks again Rickey...it is going to be a long winter here in the great white north...so plenty of time to dance with the subs in my room...
Mark

 

RE: Strange but true subwoofer tales..., posted on October 8, 2014 at 14:25:04
JBen
Audiophile

Posts: 3082
Location: South FL
Joined: May 18, 2008
Contributor
  Since:
July 26, 2010
That's usually the impact of various room effects. Still, something doesn't quite jive and I wonder if it may be a matter of electronic settings altering our perspectives. It also may be a function of how the furniture is laid out.

Happily, it is working for you now; plus you keep looking to polish it. Keep us posted, please.

In any event Satie's sense of humor has surprised me. No wonder I was not allowed to play the tuba, the violin and a flute at the same time! The tuba's bass would have intermodulated the smaller instruments' sound.*

(*I did bring a sousaphone home once and tried playing it and the fiddle at once, just for kicks. LOL, my mother kicked me out of the house!)

 

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