seasdiamond:
"
Wouldn’t it be easier to just get 2 subs and run room correction than go 4 subs?"
Yes, many users might be satisfied with 2 subs room corrected to provide good bass response at a single sweet spot in their room and it would be certainly easier.
I've helped several friends and family members with their smaller music and ht systems, usually just an a/v receiver, 3-5 spkrs and 1-2 subs.
They usually want good sound for 1-2 people from a sofa facing an hdtv. I've positioned the mic at the center of the sofa and this has resulted in decent bass response for anyone sitting on the sofa but poor bass response at other seating positions in the room.
Makes sense, right? Room correction is only capable of optimizing bass response from the single spot in the room you are giving it frequency response and volume data from (wherever you decide to position the mic).
I haven't been overly impressed with the results of the limited room correction systems I've utilized. I've found I can easily attain better bass response results by positioning the subs by ear and trial and error, though I am able to get the best results using 2 subs rather than just 1.
In my system, I was looking to get very good bass response for music and ht at all 7 seating positions spread around the perimeter of my 23 x 16 foot room. I positioned all 4 subs sequentially by ear and concealed all the wiring by running it in the crawl space below my living room. My best sounding sub configuration turned out to be 2 subs along the front 16' wall and 1-2 feet in from the front corners along with one sub along each 23' side wall, about 1-2 feet away from the rear corners.
I've never had a room frequency response analysis done for my room but bass response is exceptionally and consistently good throughout the entire room.
So, in my experience and to answer your question, 2 subs with room correction do not equal the bass performance quality of 4 subs either with or without room correction. 4 subs will provide an increase in a sense of effortless bass with increased detail and improved bass dynamics. These improvements will also be present throughout the entire room, not just at a predetermined sweet spot.
Each individual needs to decide whether or not these bass improvements are important to them.
Tim
