Room effects dominate in the bass region, and the peak-and-dip pattern is a function of room dimensions (and damping), source location, and listener location. In other words, move the bass source(s) and/or the listener and you re-arrange the peak-and-dip pattern.
One solution is to have as many bass sources as is practical, and have them spread asymmetrically as far apart as is practical. This way each bass source interacts with the room differently, producing a unique peak-and-dip pattern at any given listening position, and the sum of these dissimilar peak-and-dip patterns will be smoother than any one of them no matter how optimally placed. And if you want smooth bass over a large listening area, this technique is more effective than equalization (it is arguably more effective than equalization for a single sweet-spot as well, based on comments from people who have tried both).
If I understand correctly, by adding the Velodyne you now have three bass sources in the room, so that might be the reason why it smoothed out the bass for you. If you keep the Velodyne and go with small speakers that don't contribute much in the bass region, you may well end up back where you started.
In my opinon the theoretical ideal is multiple subwoofers scattered around the room, and they can be fairly small. In this scenario the main speakers don't need to carry the deep bass, so they can be smaller... but for aesthetic reasons few people find it practical to go the multisub route.
Duke
dealer/manufacturer
One solution is to have as many bass sources as is practical, and have them spread asymmetrically as far apart as is practical. This way each bass source interacts with the room differently, producing a unique peak-and-dip pattern at any given listening position, and the sum of these dissimilar peak-and-dip patterns will be smoother than any one of them no matter how optimally placed. And if you want smooth bass over a large listening area, this technique is more effective than equalization (it is arguably more effective than equalization for a single sweet-spot as well, based on comments from people who have tried both).
If I understand correctly, by adding the Velodyne you now have three bass sources in the room, so that might be the reason why it smoothed out the bass for you. If you keep the Velodyne and go with small speakers that don't contribute much in the bass region, you may well end up back where you started.
In my opinon the theoretical ideal is multiple subwoofers scattered around the room, and they can be fairly small. In this scenario the main speakers don't need to carry the deep bass, so they can be smaller... but for aesthetic reasons few people find it practical to go the multisub route.
Duke
dealer/manufacturer