Vandersteen Sub woofers v Rythmik Subs

One thing I have not seen mentioned yet is that the Vandersteen 2wq/M5hp system actually improves the sound of the main speakers by relieving them of the job of producing deep bass. The rest of the spectrum is cleaner sounding. It really makes a big difference. I run the Vandersteen 3a signature's with two (stereo) 2wq's and it is a very satisfying full range experience. 

bondmanp- Yes no filter in the signal path would be ideal but as you say the M5hp is very transparent. So much that I can not tell the difference. All I know is that the whole system sounds much better with the subs and filters than without. In fact I just tried a comparison with and without a week ago and its a dramatic improvment in the upper bass and midrange clarity. It removed a bit of boxiness in the 3a sig's upper bass. I can certainly live with the filters in place.
 Also I really like the adjustable q on the subs. It really helps with taming the room response. I also position the subs next to the mains well away from the walls and corners. I have found that I don't like subs in corners. It just makes them boomy.  I feel I get better time blending with mains as well with the subs in or even forward of the plane of the loudspeakers. These speakers and subs are time and phase correct top to bottom. Makes for great imaging. Very holographic.

lewinskih01- Funny you should mention elevating the subs as I have just begun experimenting with that concept. Trying to come up with something put under them. Tried milk crates about 10 inches high. Did seem to slighly reduce a bit of boominess in my room. I do want to keep trying different positions. I will also try raising just one.

Would be interesting to try the swarm idea with the Vandersteen subs and crossover implementation. All the subs would maintain the sonic signature of the main amp that way.

Absolutely right! Low bass is the hardest and most important thing to get right. Especially in smaller rooms with dimensions less than the wavelength of the lower frequency's. Until you solve the room issues in the low bass it will be very hard to get the rest of the spectrum to sound good. Standing waves will muddy up the mids and highs. I am still working on that myself as I have just moved and in a new room with (interesting) new issues.  

Looks just like 2wq. with more power and a new eq. Can't wait for some reviews. Thanks for posting that.

I know that Richard V. recommends corner placement of the 2wq's and I have had one room that corner placement worked well in. However in my current listening room (and the previous one) the bass is not good in the corners. Every room is different and in my "particular" room there is way to much low frequency reinforcement from the corners. It over loads the room with energy. Again dealing with smaller  (and odd shaped non symmetrical) rooms is challenging. Adding to the challenge is limited placement options for multiple large boxes with wires that need to be routed somehow.  WAF comes into play here (again). The current location inboard of the 3a sig's is the best location that I have come up with so far and sounds quite good for the moment but I'm not done experimenting yet. Those new Sub 3's have my attention though. Will be keeping an eye on them.

It's all a balancing act for sure. In an ideal situation we would all have large rectangular symmetrical rooms with high ceilings, constructed of musically good sounding material (because all rooms and all material have a "sound") That would minimize the problems we encounter. We could even design room acoustic treatment into the room. Again in an ideal situation we would have  purpose designed rooms. But most of us have to live with what we have and make the best of it with our limited resources, including time. For me this is a journey and I am still heading down the road and having fun with it.
 Another thought is from a manufactures point of view. Trying to design speakers that work well in all the wide variety of rooms that their designs will be asked to sound good in must be a daunting challenge.

Have a great day!

nobel100
Thanks for the kind words. I bet your system sounds great. Would love to try the swarm out.

So far we seem to mostly focus on trying to solve the bass problems with loudspeakers(subs). However the other way that seems to get less attention is to fix the room.

Lately I have been hanging out at Acoustic Fields web site learning all about room treatment from the owner Dennis Foley. He has a daily youtube channel. Very interesting stuff that may make you rethink some things you think you know about acoustics in listening rooms as well as recording studios. They design room treatment systems for some of the best recording studios and high end listening rooms. But thats a whole new can of worms and a topic for a new thread.

Cheers.