My experience adding subwoofers to 2 channel


My Kappa 9 speakers are rated to 29hz and they sound pretty good in my 18x24 room...powered by McIntosh mc1.25 amps...l was looking for another layer of bass to enhance the sound..my first experiment l took my SVS pb16 ultras from my theater room and tried them first...it sounded terrible,didn't blend well..couldn't hear a difference until you turned in up then it rattled the room apart........my final experiment worked..l used 4 Velodyne minivee subwoofers(1000 watt rms class D sealed 8 in.) and after hours of calibration l hit it......lve got the bass response that exeeded my expectations. ....l should have done this along time ago....can anybody tell me of another subwoofer that may work even better?
128x128vinnydabully
Hello khiak,

     Those Funk Audio 21.0LX are beautiful subs but they're really meant for a larger room.  If you live in an apartment, your neighbors are going to hate you if you start using those in your room.  If you really want to use those in your room, you'll need to keep them turned to a low volume to work well in a 4-sub DBA.  I currently think the best solution for your room size would be 4 subs with single 12" drivers.  A few more questions:

I'm having trouble looking up the JL 212 V1, is the model# F212 V1?
Do they have single 12" drivers or dual 12" drivers?

Would you be able and willing to return the big Funk Audio subs to achieve better overall bass in your room?

It sounds like your main speakers and rack are along the long 18 ft wall with your listening chair, with 3 seats behind, along the opposite 18 ft wall.  Is this correct?

Are you planning on moving to a bigger place or home soon?

Thanks,
  Tim
Hello Tim,
i have the dual 12” F212v1. I just got the 21.0LX the early this month after waiting 6 months for them. Comparing to the F212v1 which I have for the last 6 years, I like the 21.0LX better as it makes the overall sound more engaging. Big doesn’t have to be loud, the output level gain have to be lowered so they just disappeared into the room like the F212v1.
Unlike the F212v1 which have the variable 360 phase adjustment, the 21.0LX have delay adjustment in ms by the software DSP. My system sound best with only the 21.0LX. With the 4 subs, I think there is a timing issue between them which smear the sound. I have no ideal how to set them to be in phase with each other and the main speakers.
All available space on the left and right wall are racks with the hifi equipments. The back wall are tube traps from floor to ceiling and blue ray cabinets. On the front wall I have the fix screen for the projector, and half tube traps below the screen. Also floor to ceiling tube traps on the corners of the front wall and a cradle mounted center speaker.
I am not planning to move as I am over the 70s, my last hangout. Hahaha.
Hello khiak,

      Well, you have four very high quality subs which you should be able to position and configure into a very high quality 4-sub distributed bass array system for music and ht.  
     I'm willing to assist you in this process but I want to warn you it's going to take some work and trial and error experimenting to properly position and configure the settings. 
     If you'd like me to assist you, I just need to know a few more things before we get started.  It sounds like you have a screen and projector for video setup on the opposite 18 ft walls. So, I need you to confirm this and describe the rest of your audio/video equipment:

1.  All your receivers, amps, preamps,surround sound processors, turntables, cd players, video players and any other hardware you use.
2.  All equipment and storage racks.
3.  The main speakers, center channel and surround speakers you use. 
4.  Any room treatments you currently use such as carpets,bass traps and absorption or diffusor panels.

Tim

noble1001,287 posts05-23-2019 4:00amHello khiak,    
    I'm willing to assist you in this process but I want to warn you it's going to take some work and trial and error experimenting to properly position and configure the settings.
Very nice offer.

Researching khiak's Canadian Funk Audio 21.0LX subwoofer's their enclosure seems to be well crafted and similar to another successful subwoofer design. 

Tim, I'd suggest obtaining more information on the parameters of their DSP process. Specifically, if they're able to line out their DSP'd signal into the F212s. I was able to do this with an F113v1 from my Velodyne DD and the F113s integration and output improved in my room. 

The F113 is a very fine subwoofer but its crossover and manual adjustability seemed to be a shortcoming in my experience. JL Audio currently markets version 2 processing and a separate CR-1 Crossover component which I have no experience with. 

I would definitely NOT sell your F212 v1s. Good luck with it.
Hello m-db,
     Thanks for your information.  I'll look at the manual on Funk Audio's website to learn more. 
     He has four very high quality and expensive subs.  The 4-sub DBA concept works exceptionally well even without room control. Do you use 4 subs in your system and room control?
     If so, I'm interested in learning what specific additional bass performance improvements you noticed beyond the typical bass quality improvements gained from using the 4-sub DBA system.  In other words, what specific bass quality improvements did you notice after applying the room control?

Thanks,
  Tim