Stereo Subwoofer Pairing

Hi rjb1101,

Recording engineers understand that human hearing is very good at perceiving the directionality or where in their environment mid-range and treble sounds are emanating from but very poor in perceiving the directionality of deep bass sounds.
This is why they often combine all the bass at or below a specific frequency and record this combined deep bass only on the left channel. So, even if we could determine the directionality of deep bass frequencies, the vast majority of recordings do not have deep bass on both l+r channels when played back by home stereo systems. Configuring one’s stereo playback system with separate subs for each channel, therefore, is not a very good method of achieving good bass response in a home environment.
The best method I’ve thus far discovered for very good bass response in virtually any room is the distributed bass array method sold commercially as the Audio Kinesis Swarm or Debra systems that sell for about $3,000 for a complete system. These systems are almost identical and consist of 4 (3’Hx1’Wx1’D) subs and a 1,000 watt sub amp. Here is an Absolute Sound review of the Swarm system:
www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audiokinesis-swarm-subwoofer-system/
I have no financial interest in either system but I am a very satisfied user of the Debra system.
I suggest you’ll achieve much better bass response in your room with one of these systems than ’stereo subs’ are capable of.
Good luck,
Tim

What you want to do is set up a distributed node subwoofer system using  multiple subwoofers in different locations in the room this will smooth out bass nodes and peaks. You can use any brand to do so no real need to match manufacturers just frequency range phase and match levels.            http://www.gedlee.com/Papers/multiple%20subs.pdf

noble100

Where’d you get the idea that stereo subs would be a good idea? Or even discernable.

Use of multiple subs can minimize rooms nodes so, depending on the room, it can be an excellent solution to achieving flat in-room low frequency response.

... stereo deep bass is a myth ...

Not exactly. Depending on the phase of the LF signals, it is absolutely possible to hear bass in stereo.

" Use of multiple subs can minimize rooms nodes so, depending on the room, it can be an excellent solution to achieving flat in-room low frequency response."

Hi cleeds,
     Strictly speaking, your statement is true and has been scientifically and independently verified and documented by multiple acoustic engineers, including Dr. Geddes and Dr. O'Toole among others.  They've both published white papers on the subject if you're interested.  However, you failed to mention some details about their findings that are important to this discussion and for rjb1101 to know about.

     These scientists, through extensive testing and measuring, discovered that room bass nodes were consistently reduced as the number of subs was increased in a given room.   Yes, 2 subs are technically 'multiple subs' but they found that the use of 2 subs, while resulting in better in-room bass response than just a single sub if properly positioned, had the least affect on reducing room bass nodes. They basically concluded that the more subs in a given room the better the bass response becomes.  Not very surprising, right?
     Of course, they realized there's a practical limit to the number of subs people will accept in their rooms.  So they further stated that 3 to 4 subs, if properly positioned, would result in the elimination of the vast majority of bass room nodes in most rooms. This is the basis for Audio Kinesis utilizing 4 subs in both their distributed bass array systems.
    There is also a precise method of positioning each of the 4 subs for optimum bass response in any room that is based on Geddes and O'Toole's scientific research.  It's detailed in both Audio Kinesis manuals and I'll describe it if anyone is interested.  

    ." stereo deep bass is a myth ...

Not exactly. Depending on the phase of the LF signals, it is absolutely possible to hear bass in stereo."

     I have no knowledge of your statement being true and Dr. Geddes and Dr. O'Toole make no mention in any of their white papers of the ability of humans to perceive bass in stereo.  Most of the research I've read actually concludes the opposite; that humans have great difficulty discerning where LF sound waves are emanating from.
     I know I don't perceive LF sound waves are emanating from any of my 4 subs even though my listening chair sits between the 2 rear subs against opposing l+r walls in my 23 x 16' room and the 2 front subs are along my front wall -one behind each l+r speaker.  I perceive the bass as emanating from appropriate instruments and voices within the sound stage illusion I perceive as in front of me. 

     I willingly concede, however, that what I perceive as bass emanating from specific spots within the sound stage illusion is actually a form of perceiving stereo bass.  So, even though I'm unaware of any scientific proof verifying it, I believe hearing stereo bass is possible with the assistance of our brains because I've experienced it in my own system.  Sorry, thinking out loud.   
     From my experience, I think a more accurate statement is that we hear and feel the bass which our ears/brains perceive and assign or interpret as emanating from the proper instruments, voices and positions within the sound stage illusion our ears/brains are also perceiving and interpreting.

Tim

I have been using (and integrating) sub woofers in my music audio systems for years, 2.1 systems in the past, my current setup is a 2.2 setup, with a pair of identical models (both purchased new at the same time).
Though low bass sounds have a very long wavelength, so long it's difficult if not impossible to sense the direction they are coming from, I have found that having a pair of sub woofers gives the "visceral" experience of directionality to the bass, so I'd recommend installing a pair of subs of the same model.