Separate subs for music and HT/surround

noble100

... Run all four subs in mono because none of your music recordings were recorded with stereo bass below about 100 Hz anyway, they all have the bass summed to mono.

We’ve been through this before, and you’ve been provided with authoritative references to dispel your notion that all LF is monophonic/non-directional. I’m not sure why you choose to reject the science on the directionality of LF. In particular, 100 hZ is not especially low bass, and it pretty easily localizeable.

That many recordings have mono bass certainly doesn’t mean that all recordings have mono bass, as Richard Vandersteen noted.

Of course, if you connect your system so that all bass is mono, then it will not allow you the benefit of stereo bass. And mono bass can sound very, very good, especially in some rooms. Perhaps that’s the source of your confusion.

I don't have a separate music room, so my main music system is right in the family room with my home theater/general TV watching setup that my kids are using all the time.

But the music and HT systems are completely separate (electronics, speakers, subs) and kids not allowed to touch the music stuff.

Regarding subs, I use a REL S5 for music and unwilling to each time HT/Tv being watched by me or family to disconnect/reconnect the sub from my integrated amp to my receiver behind the rack, so I prefer to just use an older Energy sub that I had for HT, and it does a fine job there.

This way never have to reconnect anything, kids are clear on what they can operate and what they cannot, and I get highest quality music in general area of house.

Would 2 subs perhaps sound better for either application?  Maybe, but unwilling to go to that amount of effort when listening time is already short in a busy work/family/spouse filled week.

I'm not sure how this applies to the gear that you have, but my system initially started out more for home theater and over the years the focus has shifted to two channel listening.  I have 4 subs plus a HSU MBM-12 (12" "mid-bass module").

The four subs are connected to one pair of outs on my preamp, which has a home theater bypass option.  Each pair of subs are connected to one output using a Y splitter. 

The MBM-12 is connected to my Marantz pre-processor, which is only engaged for home theater.  The four subs are located throughout my living room in the fashion of a "distributed bass array" as best I can given space limitations.  

I have the subs optimized for music, but they also work great when I watch movies and the MBM-12 adds some visceral grunt to explosions, gunshots, etc.  It's easy to switch back and forth between music and home theater and both sound great.

My primary concern is keeping the stereo and HT setups separate even though there is only a single pair front LR speakers.  For stereo I want the link to be Ayre DX-5 DSD and QX-5 sources going to KX-5 preamp and VX-5 amp, with a Marchand passive high-pass filter between the preamp and amp.  An output from the KX-5 would go to a Velodyne SMS-1, and the output from the SMS-1 to the HGS-10s would be equalized not LFE.

For HT, the DX-5 sends audio via HDMI to the Bryston SP3 that delivers LFE to the other SMS-1 and use its LFE output to the HGS-15s.  My understanding is that the spectrum of LFE is modified to produce more spectacular sound effects for HT.

db 

Okay listen first off its not gonna sound like it but I totally get it. People with HT setups love their HT setups in spite of the horrid sound. Or maybe even because of the horrid sound. I get that. Do not understand why anyone would want to waste their money on horrid sound but they do and so I totally get that.

This still leaves us with the fundamental problem of if it is in the pursuit of horrid HT sound truly necessary to ruin the sound of your stereo? Only you can answer that one.

Because make no mistake, that is what you are doing. Because it is established fact you will get much, much better bass in every way bass can be better- extension, power, smoothness, precision, on and on- with four than with two subs.

So the usual answer would be run all four, duh. But then you would be improving your HT. Which like I said, I totally get that HT people don't really want good sound. Unless maybe you could stand having HT with really good bass? It is after all the processors and HT electronics that are responsible for most of what makes HT such a wasteland, and you will still be able to keep all that. Just the bass will be better. Could you live with that?

Your call.