|
SET Asylum Single Ended Triodes (SETs), the ultimate tube lovers dream. |
|
|
|
SET Asylum Single Ended Triodes (SETs), the ultimate tube lovers dream. |
|
In Reply to: Re: Missing Bass posted by Sonhouse2 on March 25, 2007 at 07:35:39:
Hi Sonhouse2,A single subwoofer in a room will generate a unique pattern of peaks and dips at the listening position due to reflections off of walls, floor, and ceiling. Move the subwoofer or move the listening position and you re-arrange this pattern of peaks and dips, but you cannot make it go away. The best you can do is try to find the pattern of peaks and dips that is least objectionable.
If you add a second subwoofer somewhere else in the room, its peak-and-dip pattern will be different from that of the first. The sound at the listening position will be the sum of these two peak-and-dip patterns (remember that with two subs, each would be playing only half as loud). Since the peak and dip patterns cannot possibly exactly coincide unless the two subwoofers radiate from the exact same point in space (difficult without bringing in a parallel universe), the net result is a smoothing of the bass pretty much throughout the room.
Three schools of thought exist on how best to use two subs.
The first says to place them as close as possible to the main speakers, so they essentially function as woofers in a separate box (think Watt-Puppy). This is claimed to give the best blend between subs and main speakers. Personally I don't necessarily agree with that claim, but it is probably the "safest" route especially if you don't have steep-slope low pass crossover filters on the subs.
The second says place the subs as asymmetrically as possible. For example, you might place one near the left-front corner, and the other along the right-hand wall alongside or slightly behind the listening position. This would tend to give the smoothest in-room bass. This technique calls for a fairly low crossover frequency and/or a steep crossover slope (preferably 4th order) on the subwoofers so that the sub close to you isn't heard as a distinct sound source. I use a variation on this approach in my room.
The third technique is to place the two subs to the extreme left and right of the listening position, against the side walls, and be sure to operate them in stereo mode. Once again a steep crossover slope is called for. This technique maximizes the audibility of low-frequency phase differences between the two channels, which gives a sense of large acoustic space on a recording with true low frequency stereo information (which unfortunately is fairly rare).
Now one disadvantage of using multiple subs is this: You'll get more bang for your buck with a single sub. For an equal dollar expenditure, a single sub will almost always play louder and deeper. But, you'll get a smoother bang with two subs.
An equalized single sub will be smoother than two unequalized subs in the sweet spot, but the two subs (or even one unequalized sub) will be smoother outside of the sweet spot. There, the tradeoff depends on your listening style.
Let me know if you have any further questions.
Best of luck to you.
Duke
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:
Follow Ups
- two subs - Duke 11:57:49 03/25/07 (0)
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2025, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
