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Subwoofers and Phase Question For You Sub Experts

I use a pair of Dunlavy SC-3 speakers, known for their time/phase coherent crossover design.

When the stars align the speakers completely disappear and there’s a sense of space and 3 dimensionality that I’ve heard from few other speakers/systems. It’s easy to destroy the illusion with things like poor placement, poor setup of room treatments, etc.

Adding subs to the setup is both a blessing and a curse. The Dunlavy’s need some support in the nether regions and a pair of HSU subs do add a solid foundation to music which enhances the overall presentation; however, it’s at the expense of some stage depth, width and image dimensionality. Placing the subs a few inches forward of the front plane of the speakers helps a little but that isn’t where they perform at their best as ‘subwoofers’.
Finding optimal room positions for bass augmentation always creates a clash with the phase aspect of integration resulting in the diminished soundstage described above.
Playing with phase settings has little impact on the problem since there’s just a toggle for 0 and 180.

Which brings me to the questions - 
1/ How does running a swarm setup, with 4 subs, affect phase/time integration with the mains? Does it create twice or half the issue or remove it altogether?

2/ Looking at subs such as the JL Audio F series with auto room calibration, does the EQ algorithm compensate for any time/phase anomaly or is it simply looking for a more linear bass response?

I don’t mind investing in more sophisticated subs so long as I don’t end up with the same problem. I’m not really inclined to mess with software and the like, unless there’s no other way.

Thanks

Rooze


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Showing 1 response by jaytor

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jaytor
747 posts
 
You should also consider the Rythmik subs. These have one of the best servo control systems on the market and are reasonably priced. The servo control amps include a variable phase control which makes it easier (using REW and a calibrated mike) to optimize the integration with your mains. 

If you have the room, you might also consider the GR-Research open baffle subs. These use the Rythmik servo controlled amps in an open baffle system. I have stereo triple-woofer subs which provide very natural sounding bass that is very deep and detailed, but these need to be at least a few feet from your front wall. These are sold in kit form, but if you don't want to build them yourself, GT Audio Works sells complete subs with from one to six drivers in each.

The theory behind the swarm is that by distributing the bass needs across 3, 4 or more subs, each one doesn't have to work very hard (so you can theoretically get away with lower quality subs) and each excites room modes differently so the amplitude of the peaks and valleys as you move around the room is reduced and the bass can be considerably smoother. 
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