Two is almost always better than one but I{'m not so sure that rings true with 8". It depends on the room.
Subwoofers.... one 10" or two 8"?
I'm looking to fill out the bottom of my simple 2 channel system (Musical Fidelity X-Ray CDP through Peachtree Audio Grand Integrated amp to a pair of Mirage OMD-15 full range speakers). I occasionally will play the TV audio through the system for movies, but not interested in an HT setup. Music is the prime focus. The room is "medium" size. I know that will not give the deep bass feel of a 12", but the difference should not be too great, and a 12" may be overkill for that room. I've also considered getting two 8" subs to keep the sound balanced between the left and right channels. I think the 8" may be enough bottom for my room and tastes. I'm on a budget so getting a pair of anything bigger than 8" may not be in the cards.
Any opinions or suggestions as to whether I'd be better off with one 10" or two 8" subs?
Any opinions or suggestions as to whether I'd be better off with one 10" or two 8" subs?
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- 60 posts total
I had two sunfire 8" yrs back with maggies i loved it fast and crisp . I’ve had alot of subs over the yrs from 8"-15 different brands and applications. ( rel velo sunfire svs nova ) Room characteristics play a big role imo . Bass traps and treatment . I still think sunfire makes a great sub for the bks 10-12" about a g or so . 2 good 10" and proper room treatment will be tight and just rip when you want it in a med room .jmo |
I owned a pair of OMD-15s for five years and had a pair of Mirage MM8 8” compact subs with them for at least three of those years. The OMD-15s are pretty picky about getting decent bass. It requires a solid (e.g., masonry) floor and reasonable proximity to room boundaries to get meaningful bass below around 42 Hz. My pair was in the living room on a suspended wooden floor and I couldn’t get the wide cones to penetrate the carpet all the way to the floor. I thought about getting Soundocity outriggers to aid in seating the speakers, but I came across some closeout specials for the MM8s and bought them instead. If I’d had more money I might have gotten a couple of bigger subs, but that’s what I got and the advantage of the MM8s is that they were *very* quick and blended easily with the OMDs. The downside is that they were only good down to around 36 Hz. If I could have gotten a sub or two that extended into the 20s, this rig would have really excelled on a wide range of music including one of my favorites—bombastic large-scale orchestral pieces such as The Planets, Scheherazade, etc. Which sub size you go for depends on how much grunt and bass extension you can get out of the OMD-15s. Can you spike them clear through to the floor and ensure that there’s no wobble? Can you move them around and find a balance between imaging and bass reinforcement from room boundaries? Then they can reach into the 30s and you would probably want a 10” or 12” sub and use a lower crossover point. If your bass is disappearing around 45-50 Hz you may need to stick with a pair of 8-inchers to get a good blend at a higher crossover point. A third option if you can spring for it, would be to get a pair of Sunfire HRS8s, an 8” subwoofer with a very high-excursion driver that can realistically reach down into the 20s. http://www.sunfire.com/productdetail.asp?id=17 The JL Audio Dominion d108 is another 8" sub that reaches down to around 30 Hz. http://www.jlaudio.com/d108-ash-home-audio-dominion-powered-subwoofers-96281 |
My OMD-15s are sitting a a very solid hardwood floor over a plywood sub-flloor built on a concrete slab. Contact between the speakers and floor is rock steady. I wonder if I'd get more bass by putting the speakers on feet to isolate from the floor. It's hard to imagine an 8" subwoofer going down into the 20s. How does the HRS8 sound at moderate listening levels? |
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