Is Sub Gain Set&Forget Across Music Genres a Fallacy?

After dialing in the powered subs on my Spatial X3s, I haven't touched a thing. Tight, tuneful and room filling bass is what I get. Sure, some recordings have more, some less. But it's never boomy or out of control. I just live with what's on the recording. Once you find a speaker (or sub) that does a good job with bass, most recordings are pretty happy with one setting.

Oz

     I also utilize 4 subs in a DBA/swarm configuration, with a pair of Magnepan 3.7i speakers run full range. I use my system for both stereo music and 5.4 HT surround sound audio and it performs extremely well on both as ’set and forget’ with a crossover setting of 40 Hz and a volume level of a touch under 50%.
     I know for certain, through prior and extensive personal experience, that it’s virtually impossible to attain an in-room bass performance quality level anywhere near the extremely high level that a 4-sub DBA system produces from utilizing only a single sub. However, utilizing 2 subs results in a significant performance improvement than a single sub, especially at a single designated listening position, and using 3 subs can sometimes even perform close to the optimal level of 4 subs in some rooms.
     From my perspective, I don’t consider this a matter of opinion but rather a matter of physics and room acoustics that has been proven and verified sufficiently, utilizing the empirical scientific method, to currently be qualified as an accepted fact.
     If you’re adamant on using only a single sub, I think your best solution is to first locate it optimally in the room using the ’sub crawl method’ to avoid obvious standing waves at your listening seat, then run any room correction program the sub has. The final steps would consist of listening to as many different musical genres and tracks as feasible while making adjustments to the crossover frequency and level controls until each track sounds best to you. If you record both settings on enough tracks and genres and weight the genres you listen to the most more heavily, you should be able to plot and determine a useful average weighted setting for each control.
     Of course, this won’t be ideal and is a bit of a compromise but it should be a serviceable solution until you’re ready to join the big leagues of in-room bass performance and utilize 3-4 subs in your systems.
     You should also be aware, however, that even 2 subs will provide an obviously noticeable improvement over a single sub. Also, the 2nd sub doesn’t need to be identical, the same quality, size or even the same rated bass extension as the other sub to provide significantly better overall bass response than just a single sub.

Best wishes,
Tim

I use 4 subs. When I first tuned them, I used my 3-5 references  (jazz, classical and voice dominated music) to set them. I was very happy as it provided me a lot of bass without any boom. As I expanded my listening further away from "reference" recordings into other genres (pop), I had to dial it back a little bit more to accommodate their recording biases. (Not sure if the engineer intended or contemplated subs in the playback. Urban legend has it that some pop was EQed for car radios).That said, I just found another reference recording that was super everywhere but with a huge bass (but clean) presence. I've concluded that the sound engineer intended that bass but underestimated its effect. I just enjoy it as artistic expression.

Nothing wrong with your system. There is a huge amount of variation in how recordings are mixed and mastered.  Multiple subs and room treatment will only help if you have low end booming issues.  I have multiple subs in my system and constantly have to change the gain balance between the subs and the mains to compensate for the those differences.  

The gain on some and maybe all of SVS subs can be controlled remotely with the SVS app from your phone. Another option would be to insert a DSP between your preamp and amp and then you could control the gain of either your sub or mains remotely with a laptop. Assuming you have a laptop, a miniDSP could be a good way to go. I believe they are rather economical and rather unobtrusive so your wife probably wouldn’t even know it was there.

Hello kren0006,

      I could be wrong but I don't think many individuals find the idea of constantly adjusting their sub's level and xover settings, to optimize the  bass by track, acceptable or even feasible. I know I wouldn't.
     I believe most would find setting both controls to a weighted average settings, based on data of your own preferences, or a (Goldilocks) happy medium to be much more acceptable and convenient method.  Unless you have OCD, I'd suggest this method as the best solution for most but, of course, not necessarily for you.  
     I also suggest the best way to achieve this optimum 'happy medium' is with at least 2 subs rather than 1 since 2 usually performs around twice as well as 1 both scientifically and subjectively. You're likely to perceive the bass as smoother, faster, more detailed, more powerful and dynamic as well as better integrated with your main speakers and more natural.
     The reason 2 subs produces more powerful and dynamic bass than a single sub is capable of, and why it may prove especially beneficial in your case, is that bass is cumulative in a room and 2 subs are capable of producing about twice as much high quality bass since there are double the number of subs and each sub is operating well below and within its limits.
     I think you'll also find 2 subs as being more efficient and flexible in easily producing more bass, or more powerful bass dynamics, in your room when each specific recording calls for it or demands it.

Best wishes,
     Tim