Question for sub woofer users

Subs are the devil’s 3rd child. Properly integrated into the room and with your system a single sub can be magical. Poorly a real beast that will never work out well. The deeper the sub, the more bass extension you try to get the harder it is to do it right. So a smaller sub may in fact sound much better for you, depends.

Easiest if you can get an installer to integrate them. Acoustics, EQ and placement all matter. A pro can do it in 1/50th the time.

Next most easy is if you find a sub with a good sounding auto-EQ. I can’t hear the difference between super awesome 500 tonne subs and merely very good subs, but I CAN hear the difference in the EQ settings. So it’s very worthwhile asking other owners for their experiences. If you JUST do EQ it won’t be nearly as good as EQ plus room treatment.

Hardest is getting the room right, measuring, placing it yourself and creating your own EQ curves.

Equally difficult is getting 2 subs right.

Additional resources:

http://ethanwiner.com/basstrap_myths.htm
http://www.roomeqwizard.com/
www.GIKAcoustics.com
www.data-bass.com


Best,


Erik

jzzmusician - In my experience they can be set and forget after the initial (week?) of set up.  I fairly recently got a pair of SVS SB1000.  Not the most expensive subs out there but they have greatly increased my level of musical enjoyment.  They seem to bring something a lot more complex than just "deeper bass".  While their contribution is significant, on another level it is "subtle" (for lack of a better word)....they are sort of figuratively "invisible".  Integration was not the nightmare some have experienced.  I suspect setting them up to round out the bottom end of full range floor standers (my use) would be easier than setting them up to work with limited range monitors.   I do have a complement of GIK room treatments including floor standing corner soffits on the wall behind the speakers/subs.

I set them up mainly by ear but also with some on-line tone samples and a Radio Shack SPL meter.  Maybe not the most sophisticated method but it gave me insights to necessary adjustments.  Gain, cross over and phase all continuously variable.  I don't find myself tweaking them constantly though I sure as heck can hear a lot more of the differences between recordings and even track to track. 

Not trying to contradict any of the good advice Erik is giving you.  Just reporting my experience.

My REL B3 took a week to get set up correctly and I've never touched it since (3 years) with the exception of connecting it to my new Accuphase. You would never know it's there besides the fact that it's big. I have to get on my hands and knees and put my ear next to it to know it's actually working. I couldn't live without it now.

No problems with a sub here . Set it and forget it . Glad i lucked out incorporating a sub i guess .