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Best Way to Integrate Subwoofers?

What’s the best way to integrate subwoofers with monitors, or speakers?

I’m not referring to placement, or room treatments. I’m referring to what’s the best way to integrate via a crossover, without a custom dedicated crossover.

Do you run two separate signals to the subs vs the speakers and supress the lower frequencies to the speakers, while supressing the upper frequencies to the subs? It would seem that this method might allow you to move the crossover to higher frequencies, relying more on the subs for the bass and lower mids - if that is beneficial. It would also seem that this method would permit you to taylor the slope of the crossover to minimize overlap of frequencies between the subs and the speakers, which might improve clarity - depending on the capability of the particular crossover used. And, I suppose it implies / requires a separate crossover to be used to run both signals through to route the mids and highs only to the speakers and the bass and lows only to the subs.

Or do you run the same signal to the subs and speakers and just emphasize the subs up to the bottom of the frequency range of the speakers, crossing over from the subs to the speakers at that point (crossover notch). It would seem that this method would require you to fix the crossover at the bottom of the frequency range of the speakers, wherever that may be, and would not require a separate crossover to be inserted into the signal path. And it would seem to imply that the slope of the crossover would be limited to the slope inherent in the subs and speakers, which would limit the flexibility of the crossover.

Or, does it make any difference?
bassdude

Showing 3 responses by millercarbon

millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Right. Exactly. No need to sell. Just add more.

That's the thing when it comes to low frequencies, its not so much the quality as the number of the speakers. No one sub no matter how good can ever overcome the physical reality of the long wave nodes that form in every residential size room. For four on the other hand, one on each wall, its easy. 

Obviously four really powerful high quality subs is better than four little cheapies. But from what I've seen four of just about anything will beat one or two of just about anything. So just add more.
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Actually guys the best and easiest way to go is four subs in a distributed bass array. I know. I’ve tried. You’re kidding yourselves if you think its easy or even possible to get really good bass from any one sub. Cannot be done. No matter where you put it, no matter how you EQ it, best you can do is get pretty good at one spot. So after a lot of time wasted moving, listening, moving, listening, tweaking EQ, moving, listening, measuring you eventually call it good and tell yourself its good. But its not good. Because in order to get it good, even in just that one spot, you created nodes where the bass is way too loud elsewhere in the room. Its inevitable. Its physics. No speaker, no EQ, nothing ever gonna alter the physics of the room and the wave. So that loud node hangs around messing up the bass. Always gonna happen. No way around it.

Only when you accept reality, accept the physics, then you plop FOUR subs down, do a rough level set, and immediately enjoy bass better than you ever heard before. That’s what I heard last night. Haven’t tweaked a thing yet, already better than anything I ever heard anywhere ever.

Oh and btw, two of those REL subs you all are raving about that cannot possibly ever produce really good SOTA bass cost about as much as the FOUR in a Swarm system that will. http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audiokinesis-swarm-subwoofer-system/
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
Well first of all you use four subs, and it hardly matters where they go just that they're not all in the same place.

But anyway regardless of how many or where, the question is how to get the balance right. Its pretty simple. So here's what you do.

First reverse phase so the subwoofer(s) are out of phase with the mains. Now adjust the subwoofer crossover and volume level until you get as little sound as possible in the crossover range. You will probably need to go back and forth a few times, adjusting the crossover and then the level, looking for the best result. When you do, then reverse so they are back in phase again.

Voila! 

But I worry that I forgot to mention how important it is that you use four subs. Okay, I see that I did say to use four subs. Whew. What a relief.
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