subwoofers and panels don't mix


i have yet to experience a subwoofer that mated well with a panel speaker--ribbon, stat and planar magnetic.

each time i have heard a combination of a cone driver with a panel it sounds like two speakers. the blend is not seamless.

can anything be done to make the transition from cone to panel sound like a one speaker system, rather than reveal 2 different driver types ?
mrtennis

Showing 1 response by richards

A couple more possibilities:

1) Consider stereo subs. IMO, even at low X-over points, stereo subs create more realism. See the 6moons article:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/vbt/magellan82.html
Also, consider a pair of VBT/TBI subs as an option. They're small and inobtrusive and can be placed anywhere and have short excursion drivers and I've found them to integrate well with several speakers.

2) If size doesn't matter, consider a pair of dipole sube to match your dipole speakers, and place them in the plane of your Maggies.
I first realized the value in dipoles when I had a square room and big Proacs. Couldn't get the bass right with any placement. Switched to Genesis V with integrated dipole subs and the bass improved dramatically.
I'm using DIY Linkwitz Phoenix dopole subs and can't say enough good things about them.

3) Consider Tact preamp room-correction. Maybe more than you want to spend, but I've not heard anything that integrates subs with the mains as well as this. I was astonished the first time I heard it. Nice and fast digital crossovers allow you to position the subs where the bass sounds best and corrects the bumps and valleys of the bass frequencies at your listening position.

When you see the aberrant bass measurements in your room with the Tact you'll understand why so many folks abandon subs---their loss. Low frequencies add spatial cues that add so much to realism, but they have to be tamed so they don't sound out of control (and muddy up the mids). The Tact does this amazingly well.
Good luck.