Subwoofer Question

@maprik What type of source program or test tone was used in the spectrum analyzed graph at the bottom of your equipment list?

Did it provide a flat output say from 10HZ on up? 

Does the graph display your speakers and sub-bass woofer output simultaneously or just the speaker output?

@m-db That’s white noise from a Stereophile system test cd. I believe its flat from 20hz to 20khz. The graph is my speakers only without the sub. I will do one with the subwoofer. 

I have tried this, using 1 subwoofer. if you have non-treated room, and the system is not in synergy it will not matter. 

But if you have a well-treated room and the synergy of your speakers are dialed in, Then Yes, it will matter. 

For me, having dual subs enable me to position the sound stage such I can hear the bass drums or cello playing the correct sound stage placement. not just bass, but correct bass alignment and spatial location of the instrument. 

heck, i started to think bass was just bass. but after the dual subs and room treatment. the musical presentation was leaps and bounds better with just 1 sub,

but I always say, YMMV.

As always, much misinformation regarding subs and how to set them up. I see the ridiculous crawl method being suggested again and again. This is not optimal, if you find a spot where it sounds good it will probably not be where you would like and furthermore you have no idea where the accompanying null/s will be so the whole sound will change as you move around in and out of peaks and nulls. I recommend disregarding that entire article from audioholics and forget about crawling around the floor. This could lead to divorce, insanity and getting bitten by the dog.

How to avoid crawling:  If you're going to add seperate bass sources (subs) then do it properly and this means knowing where in terms of frequency and amplitude the peaks and nulls are and getting rid of them. A minimum of 2 subs are required and the best and also easiest way is by usuing subs that are sealed and they must have variable phase (timing) adjustment which will allow you to place them where you like. Ported subs can work but will take a lot more effort and still not be as good. The ported units are more suitable for home theater but I would still choose sealed for the superior bass performance. A port resonates at only one frequency and by definition is frequency invarient so therefore untunable. Subs like REL which do not provide continuous phase adjustment should be avoided if you want the smoothest  response. 0-180 phase flip will not get you there. I'm talking about bass performance that is within the industry standard of +/- 3 dB up to the transition frequency (Schroeder) A good place to start is one sub in the front wall corner and the other in the middle of the opposite wall.

How to dial them in:  If you really would like to hear the music you've been missing in the nulls which is cancellation happening, it's a null right? and tame the peaks which is the only reason you hear people say the sub just did not work no matter what they tried or it's boomy or slow then you need to measure. There simply is no such thing as a slow or boomy sub. What gives this impression are the excessively large peaks taking much longer to decay. Peaks and nulls are your biggest enemy and I can assure you crawling will not tame the peaks nor fill in the nulls. I'm sure by now you have all heard of the free download REW you just need a mic. Get started it's easier than you think and will provide real time information where you can watch the frequency plot of your room change before your eyes as you adjust parameters on the subs. Measurement will remove the guesswork and also reveal the decay across the spectrum which if you choose can be treated with damping.

The result of this will astonish you so do it right and stop crawling around the floor, it's creepy.