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Stereo Subs - Do they need to be identical?

I'm thinking of getting a couple of subwoofers to mate with my MBL 121 monitors. Generally, I've seen setups where people use two subs of the same brand and size. I'm wondering whether it can make sense to use two different sizes. For example - a Venoyne DD12 and a DD15. I'm likely going to go with Velodyne DD series or JL Audio.

In particular, I note that the big Velodyne 1812 uses an 18 inch and 12 inch woofer, with suppsed benefits in terms of speed (12 inch) and extension and depth (18 inch).
outlier
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
Because you are are going to be using the subs, for more than just the bottom octave with your monitors...I would go with two of the exact same subs. You ear may pick up on any tone differences between the two subs.

If you were only going to use the subs for the lowest octave (20-40hz)...I doubt it would matter if the subs were an exact match...those freq's are well below what your ear can hear.

Dave
jig
160 posts
 
I will have to weigh in with an opposing view. I have had good luck using 2 totally different subs in the same system. YMMV, but I can see no reason not to try it, especially if you already own one sub and are adding a 2nd.
rwwear
2,883 posts
 
I don't think there would be a problem using different subs as long as you are crossing them over low enough but I would go with the same size myself. I don't see any merit to the smaller sub being faster theory. First of all a small sub has to move further to produce the same amount of bass as a larger sub therefore negating the speed advantage. In addition bass is slower because it is a longer frequency. If it were fast it wouldn't be bass. A bass drum is larger than a snare for a reason.
stanwal's avatar
stanwal
3,147 posts
 
I have found no correlation between size and performance in subs. My subs have 10" and 12" drivers and go very low. The idea of a big slow cone for a woofer was prevalent when I got into audio in the early 60s. Then you had the Electro-Voice with a 30" woofer and the Hartley with a 24" woofer. 15s were common in 3 way systems. As speaker design has progressed woofers have , by and large, grown progressively smaller. Now the $33,000 Avalon Diamond , which may be the best speaker in the world, uses 2 7.5" woofers. It is the overall design of the sub that counts , not the diameter of the woofer. I would not worry about mixing different sizes, AS LONG AS, you are crossing them over sufficiently low. I use 22 Hz on mine. If you could hear a difference between them then you would be crossing too high, you should NEVER be able to hear a sub, just feel them.
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