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Is Anyone Using Subwoofers the Same Size as Their Mids?

Ever since I moved my listening room, I’ve been struggling with subwoofer integration. I know there are several room-related problems I need to solve and in the meantime, I am not using a subwoofer. Recently I made some system changes and realized my 6.5” mids actually put out some decent bass and because they don’t dig quite as low as a true subwoofer, they (mostly) get around the room issues. It made me wonder if I could simply add more identical drivers (6.5”) and tune them to subwoofer frequencies (e.g. high pass at 80-100 Hz, for example). Perhaps even get four of them and build a distributed bass array. In theory, they should integrate beautifully with the mids since they would be identical drivers. What am I missing because this seems like too good of an idea for other people not to have done it? Does anyone have any experience with this? 

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Showing 1 response by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,801 posts
 

I use 6.5" drivers in my mains and they do put out a decent amount of bass, but I’ve also integrated with real subwoofer and the result was amazing.

The easy, correct way to go from here is to go as big as you can with the sub BUT use appropriate EQ tools like miniDSP or get an SVS sub with built in EQ. You are right that subs can create problems, which small speakers don’t, but a good EQ can clip the big mosters off so the sub can work correctly.

If you are unwilling/unable to apply EQ, then leave your set up alone as-is.  If you ARE willing to measure your sub and clip the excesses then I encourage you to go mainstream with a 12" - 15' sub.

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