Eh hem!...Subwoofers... What do ya know?


Subwoofers are a thing.  A thing to love.  A thing to avoid.  A misunderstood thing.  

What are your opinions on subwoofers?  What did you learn and how did you learn it? 


jbhiller
I only have 1 powered sub. No DBA. I found that modeling my room, which is an “L” shape, and using it to model a horn, resulted in incredible bass, fast and tight. 

Pouring money into the problem is back-asswards.
I use just one ML Dynamo 700w sub right now to compliment my Maggie's.
Strongly considering adding another though.
Room can really only handle two as far as placement goes.
Would a pair work diagonally opposite each other?
So say one front left, the other rear right or?

And I don't suppose anybody would know if  just one wireless transmitter would send signal to both of them?
After doing lots of reading, research, and listening, I went with a pair of the new Vandersteen Model 3 Subs. I liked the way they integrated with the main speakers. I will take delivery in a couple of weeks--they are in shipping. I will let you know how they work.
uberwaltz:
I use just one ML Dynamo 700w sub right now to compliment my Maggie's.
Strongly considering adding another though.
Room can really only handle two as far as placement goes.
Would a pair work diagonally opposite each other?
So say one front left, the other rear right or?


Say, does that Dynamo hum? Frank Zappa's did.

Placement is all about figuring out where to put one speaker to get the smoothest response at the sweet spot. With more subs it matters less and less where they go. You actually want them different places, particularly asymmetrically different places, because the more different sources the more different modes and they all average out to much, much smoother bass.

With my 5, one is front wall left, two on each side wall, and they are each a little bit different distance from the corners. Tim on the other hand (noble_100) took a more systematic approach and wound up with one in each corner. His room is almost exactly same as mine, like within about a foot each way. His listening is closer to the back wall, but as I recall its dual use, he sits more to the wall for movies, further out for music. Loves it either way.

Stories like his, plus my experience, and Duke's, all agrees with the early papers (Geddes, et al) conclusion of random or at least asymmetrically located is best. 

With 2 I'd put the second one diagonally opposite and spaced a little closer or further from the corner than the first one. With just two you might hear a difference moving them around. The more there are, the less it matters where they are.
I just went through all this since the golden ear accolades for the swarm set up .I have  spent every waking moment working on it for a couple weeks until it is so perfect its real. Running 2 18” ,2 15” and 2 10” placed with help from tim. The idea of spending thousands on one killer sub seems idiotic to me now . Any one of them is barely percievable that they are even on when you walk up to them . But the entire room is alive. (2000sqft) no boomy voices or having to reach for the remote because things seem suddenly ridiculous. The hardest part was just properly running the wires. All mono . Using a bx63a crossover. The main subs are under the floor suspended from the ceiling . Aiming each other 20” apart. The rest are placed in the standing waves of the room. I feel like the subs are part of the room now and i can audition any main speakers i want .  Room treatment seems less and less necessary the more dialed it gets.