Hi Tim,
Glad to give it a shot.
What I said was that I use the RELs out-of-phase to cancel standing waves due to room bass nodes. The improvement in soundstage happens due to the sub(s) loading the room with sound pressure, either "in-phase" or "out-of-phase". Works both ways if your sub(s) is capable of true ultra-low frequency reproduction and the crossover is set properly (at the lowest crossover frequency setting in my case).
To set up the sub(s) for soundstage enhancement, adjust the crossover frequency and output levels so that the bass enhancement effect of the sub(s) can be felt but not heard. The best way to do it is sit in your preferred listening position and have someone turn the sub on and off (or use the remote if applicable) and adjust crossover and level controls until you don’t notice much difference in the bass level when turning it on, but the soundstage collapses somewhat when you turn it off.
I positioned the RELs by ear. Lots of time and moving the subs to find the best spot by trial and error. One trick for finding the best starting location is to place the sub where you sit and move about the room until you hear the sweet spot, then move the sub to where you were standing (or even better, squatting) when you found that sweet spot. If using two, do it again with the second while the first, already optimally placed, is on.
My experience is that it is impossible to place a sub where it will sound its best "throughout the entire room". You can certainly compromise for a good "all-around" placement but it will only perform optimally in one location in your room for a given listening position.
I hope this helps some. Let me know if not.
Dave
Glad to give it a shot.
What I said was that I use the RELs out-of-phase to cancel standing waves due to room bass nodes. The improvement in soundstage happens due to the sub(s) loading the room with sound pressure, either "in-phase" or "out-of-phase". Works both ways if your sub(s) is capable of true ultra-low frequency reproduction and the crossover is set properly (at the lowest crossover frequency setting in my case).
To set up the sub(s) for soundstage enhancement, adjust the crossover frequency and output levels so that the bass enhancement effect of the sub(s) can be felt but not heard. The best way to do it is sit in your preferred listening position and have someone turn the sub on and off (or use the remote if applicable) and adjust crossover and level controls until you don’t notice much difference in the bass level when turning it on, but the soundstage collapses somewhat when you turn it off.
I positioned the RELs by ear. Lots of time and moving the subs to find the best spot by trial and error. One trick for finding the best starting location is to place the sub where you sit and move about the room until you hear the sweet spot, then move the sub to where you were standing (or even better, squatting) when you found that sweet spot. If using two, do it again with the second while the first, already optimally placed, is on.
My experience is that it is impossible to place a sub where it will sound its best "throughout the entire room". You can certainly compromise for a good "all-around" placement but it will only perform optimally in one location in your room for a given listening position.
I hope this helps some. Let me know if not.
Dave