2. speakers
  3. 1163027954

Two Subs Vs. One

Trying to augment the sound from a pair of Totem Hawks in a large room (rest of system is an Olive Musica server, Eastern Electric Minimax Pre, Classe CAP-150 Amp). I am doing some in-home auditions of affordable single subs (mostly REL) and really like what they do for the sound. So far, I am leaning toward two smaller subs, one behind each speaker (ie. REL Q108E's - I like the sound better in that position and it looks better - wife factor) versus one larger one in the corner (ie. REL R-205). Can't find two demo units of the same sub to audition the two-sub option and was wondering if anyone had experience with this comparison.
itball

Showing 2 responses by elevick

elevick
2,638 posts
 
Remember, bass below 80hz is really non-directional. Why not try 1 sub and if you don't get enough "slam" then add a second. You may be amazed that in normal listening that you probably won't be able to tell if 1 sub is connected or two.
elevick
2,638 posts
 
In defense of my statement, find us an engineer please. You may be "feeling" the bass when it is really loud or close. But, hearing it is another story. I'm not a bass heavy person. If you came to my house, you would be hard pressed to find my 15" velodyne, let alone tell if it's on or off unless listening to a track that has lots of deep bass. And yes, when watching a movie, I can localize the bass because it shakes the heck out of my room!

I was always taught a simple sub set-up technique for people without the money or access to test equipment. Place the sub anywhere. Get on your hands and knees and crawl around the room while playing some strong bass pieces. Where the bass sounds strongest or best is where you should move the sub to for optimum room response. Far from perfect but if you can't decide on the final location this may help.
More to discover