2. speakers
  3. 1151877963

Subwoofer solutions.

I am completing my first serious HT system in my bedroom of 14x14x8 with carpet. The room is mostly square with a section in the right corner that opens into a double vanity that separates the bath and closet, and there is a bay window along the center of the back wall.

System is Lexicon LX-7 amp, Sunfire TGP-5 processor, Denon 1920 DVD player, Panasonic 26' HDMI tv, with Monitor RS 8, RS 1, RS LCR speakers.

I have few options for placing either one big sub or two smaller subs. When I say big, I do not mean too big maybe 15x15x15. the delime here is working around the WAF factors which I must adhere to for my sanity.

The electronics and tv are all housed in an armoire. I can place one of the subs in the left corner of the room which would be behind the left RS 8. If I go with two subs, one of them will have to be placed inside the bottom left compartment of the armoire( which would be close to the other sub placed outside the armoire), or on top of the armoire where the RS 1's are placed.

I could go with two of the Monitor RS subs which would be a perfect match in both color and sonics. I could go with say two Paradigm Seismic 10's which would probably be better subs than the RS subs or with one used Aerial SW-12 which would be better than any previously mentioned sub.

I am not locked into any of the subs mentioned, but I believe I could get any of these easily and at a reasonable price. The Paradigm's are downward firing, so will the carpet be a consraint for a down firing sub? I have always read that two subs are better than one, but with my limitations of placement is this true in my case? Finally, The Sunfire has three sub inputs, and if I hook the two subs directly into these inputs via rca's or xlr's, would this then be running the two subs in stereo?

Thanks for your replys.
jhwalker
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Putting a sub in or on your armoir may cause buzzing and rattling that will drive you crazy. Being a bedroom system I would not go overboard with multiple subs. I would go for small and good looking if it is in a visible location. Match your furniture if possible. There are lots of people that rave about the Martin Logan subs as good performers in a small package.

Multiple subs can help smooth out bass humps/holes in your room frequencey responce. This is a square bedroom with a giant bed in the middle. This is far from ideal theater design to begin with. Multiple subs can also cancel each other out resulting in less bass or muddy bass. Hook-up and set-up can vary depending on home theater or stereo applications. If you plan on watching movies in bed then I would just use one sub on the LFE output. Keep it simple.
mdhoover
695 posts
 
"If I go with two subs, one of them will have to be placed inside the bottom left compartment of the armoire( which would be close to the other sub placed outside the armoire), or on top of the armoire where the RS 1's are placed."

Maybe I'm dead wrong on this, but putting a sub inside of or on top of an armoire sounds like a HUGE no-no. It would seem to me like doing so would make the walls of the armoire vibrate and resonate and SERIOUSLY degrade the sound, and do MUCH more harm than good. I would not do this, or if I were to even consider it, then I'd at LEAST do an in home test prior to committing to purchasing the second sub.

The merits of one versus two subs have been roundly debated on this site before, but the dual sub option seems like a non-starter in the configuration you're describing. Even so, you may enjoy this thread from the archives:

One versus two subs--here's one of my favorites: Hilarious at times, but containing useful information too.
jhwalker OP
23 posts
 
Thanks for the input Steuspeed and Mdhoover. I should have mentioned that back in my two channel set-up, I had a B & W ASW 675 placed inside the armoire. There were no problems with extraneous noises. However, If I placed one sub here it would be very close to the sub on the outside of the armoire. Far from being an expert, I would expect that this could not be such a good thing in sonic terms.

I believe that you are both right, and I will probably just go with one sub.

unclejeff
1,313 posts
 
Get one sub, and if you like it, stop.
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
If you had one sub in the armoir before than that may work for you again. If the armoir is closed it will be out of sight which can be a plus. When I do home theater designs, I usually try and place the sub near the center channel and get it as well integrated and time aligned with the center channel as possible. This is where the primary action and sound is coming from most of the time.
More to discover