Subwoofer Advice


I am running a pair of Martin Logan ESL 13A speakers (24-23,000 Hz). I would have thought with two 10" woofers there would be more bas (the base level dial on the rear of the speakers doesn’t seem to cut it either).

In the past I had a pair of ML Spires (29-23,000 Hz) with only one 10" woofer that had so much base, I sold my pair of ForceField 30s. Not the case with the 13A’s.

I don’t have a lot of room, maybe 16" or so square and I was wondering about a pair of SVS Micros. Do you think they would complement the 13As or do I need something bigger?

Martin Logan has come out with a few new subs lately; do you think I should keep in the ML family?

Hoping to come in under $2K, so used is fine. Thanks all!

I should also mention I’m limited on space so placement would likely have to be on the inside or the outside of the main speakers (same back wall).

 

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Two subs. One for each channel best. The bigger the room the bigger the sub(s). 

I run 4 SB-1000's (no Bluetooth). Small, tight, sealed box, and they were cheap ! The front one's in are in phase. The rears are 180° out of phase, Tunes the room's Bass nodes perfectly. I still have a 50Hz - 60 Hz hump in the room. But I like it. I don't use any DSP and chose to tune the room instead.

I listen to A LOT of SACD's/DSD files and refuse to convert the DSD to a PCM stream (been there, done it, got the T-Shirt).

What is the size of the room the MLs are in? Did you get the Anthem room correction for it? Does it have a bass EQ function?  I can help you figure this out, but I need this info first. It is possible you may not need a subwoofer at all. 

Mike

I have 2 x SVS 3000 micro's used with Trinnov correction alongside my Wilson Benesch front speakers in my Lounge.  The micro's were chosen over the SB1000's only because I could not get a position (as I do in my other room where I have SVS 16's to get front firing alignment (partly done with Sneakers Track 4, partly with Trinnov).  I would agree with @soix  and @rajugsw that the 1000 / 1000 pro would be better for that use and would have gone that way if space allowed (micro's are behind slightly outboard).  But they do (with the correction applied) do a very good job.  But, I haven't tried to time align them through position without the correction and I suspect, having tried that once before with a Kef dual firing unit that it would be more difficult to get a satisfactory result and both this and discussions with Trinnov on emerging technologies such as their wave forming would, wherever possible lead me towards a front firing sealed box wherever possible.

I use dual Rythmick F12. I offer no recommendations as to your specific subs questions, but I will offer one about placement. Placing both subs either right inside or outside of the speakers is far from ideal. In my house of stereo it resulted in very overly bloated bass along the back wall of the room. I then took the advice of one of the members here who said subs need to be on different walls and at different locations. After experimenting, one ended up on the right side of the front wall, the other a third down along the left sidewall. The result was astounding, it solved all my bloated bass issues.