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"Musical" subwoofers? Advice please on comparing JL subs

I'm ready to be taught and I'm ready to be schooled. I've never owned a subwoofer and I'm not so hot with the physics of acoustics. I've had my eye on two 10" JL Audio subwoofers, the e110 ($1600) and the f110v2 ($3500). I hope this is a simple question: will the f110v2 be more "musical" than the e110?

Perhaps unnecessary details: I'm leaning into small bookshelf speakers, mini monitors with limited bass, for near-field listening in a small room. I don't want to rock the casbah and rattle the windows; I want to enhance the frequency range from roughly 28hZ to perhaps 90 or 100hZ: the lower notes of the piano, cello, bassoon, double bass, etc. I think I'm asking: will one of those subwoofers produce a more "musical" timbre in that range? Is spending the extra $2000 worth it in terms of acoustic warmth and pleasure? More generally, are some subs more musical than others? Or is that range just too low for the human ear to discern critically? 

I know there are a lot of variables and perhaps my question can't be answered in isolation. If it helps, let's put to the side topics such as room treatments, DSP and DARO, debates about multiple subs, debates about using subwoofers at all, and the difficulties of integration. Let's assume a fast main speaker with limited bass. I'm not going to put a 12" sub in the room. While I'm not going to put four subs in the small room, I would strongly consider putting in two, and it would of course be much more economical to put in two e110s. This, though, would only lead to the same question now doubled: would two f110v2 subs sound more musical than two e110s? Also, I'm sure there are other fine subs out there but I'm not looking for recommendations; if it helps to extrapolate, consider the REL S/510 and T/5i. 

I realize that I may be wildly off with all this, and I know that the best way to find out is to try them out. I'm not at that point yet. I'm simply curious about the "musicality" of different subwoofers. 
northman

Showing 3 responses by audiokinesis

audiokinesis
2,763 posts
 
Northman, given your situation, I’d suggest the sub that has the most powerful EQ. That would be the F110.

I apologize for volunteering subwoofer-related information that you did not ask for. I misunderstood what you were open to:

"I’m ready to be taught and I’m ready to be schooled. I’ve never owned a subwoofer and I’m not so hot with the physics of acoustics."

Duke
audiokinesis
2,763 posts
 
Northman, here is my $.02:

Four E110’s, intelligently positioned, will have about twice the inherent in-room smoothness (and correspondingly better tonality) compared with two F110v2’s.  I can explain why if you’d like. Tonality in the bass region is a function of the in-room frequency response. And "smooth bass" is "fast bass", because it is the room-induced peaks which decay more slowly and sound boomy and degrade clarity and tonality in the bass region.

Another advantage of having four subwoofers instead of two is that the (improved) frequency response holds up well throughout the room. When the frequency response is similar throughout the room, any EQing you do will be beneficial throughout the room as well, instead of improving the response in the "sweet spot" but making it worse elsewhere. So if you have multiple listeners, nobody gets cheated with a good distributed multi-sub system.

Even three subwoofers intelligently distributed is imo a worthwhile improvement over two. Or to get the best balance between bass quality and number of "footprints" occupied by speakers in your room, maybe use four subs with two of them doing double-duty as speaker stands, though that might not be practical if the heavy-cone JL Audio subs would vibrate your main speakers.

In general I have a great deal of respect for Erik’s opinions. Note that his objection to a distributed multiple subwoofer system is based not on the technique lacking in merit, but rather on his negative feelings towards people who have advocated it. I appreciate the fact that he makes that distinction clear in his blog post.

Duke
audiokinesis
2,763 posts
 
Fastfreight wrote: "But we do have two stereo main speakers... and there is stereo information in bass information (not talking about LFE or .1 here). Stereo subs SUPPORT the soundstage and imaging. Not sure if Swarmy subs do this all over the room or not. Seems dubious."

The Swarm is normally sold with a single amplifier to drive all four subs, in summed mono configuration. An optional second amplifier can be added, such that the left channel signal goes to the subs on the left side of the room, and likewise for the right side.

Imo true subwoofer-region stereo is rare at best, but the second amplifier can significantly enhance the sense of envelopment even with normal program material: Set the phase controls on the two amps 90 degrees apart, in what’s called "phase quadrature", thereby synthesizing the phase differentials one might experience in a large room. Credit to David Griesinger for this idea.

Obviously this phase-quadrature technique can be used with two conventional subs provided they have continuously-variable phase controls. I’d suggest locating the two subs along the left and right side walls.  

Duke
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