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Turned Off My Subwoofer ... And My Speakers Sound Great

I’ve had a pair of JA Pulsars (non-Graphene) for a couple of years now, and have been using them with a subwoofer. Today, I noticed that my Pulsars sounded very different. There was an expansion of soundstaging, the bass was more articulate and robust (i.e., it had more weight to it), and the highs really sparkled.

This was somewhat different from the sound to which I had become accustomed, so I looked on the panel and discovered that the sub had been turned off. Apparently, my wife had been dusting around my listening room and had accidentally hit the off switch.

I am kind of befuddled by this because I thought use of the subwoofer was supposed to achieve those sonically pleasing effects. Apparently not in my case. Have any ’Goners had this happen? I’m really happy with the "new" sound sans subwoofer, but continue to wonder why that is. I mean by all objective measures, the sub should improve the sound, not detract from it. I just don’t get it.
rlb61
rlb61 OP
789 posts
 
@tomic601  I've heard both versions of the Pulsars in different rooms with different systems. I'm convinced that the Graphene 2 provides an incremental upgrade over the non-Graphene model. On a percentage basis, I'd say it's about a 3% improvement, in which case the law of diminishing returns applies for me.  
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,308 posts
 
The sub was probably set at too high a level and/or the low pass filter set too high.

In other words set for too much bass which obscures the rest.

Not uncommon for folks to set their subs too high.

If suspended plywood floors that will also muddy the bass and obscure detail. Try placing sub on an isolating platform if so like Auralex Subdude.
jrwaudio
346 posts
 
I have my Maggie's. 7's four feet from wall eight feet apart and eleven feet from listening position and intergarated with one SVS Ultra 13 Sub and I only have room for one sub. It was a pain to get the synergy, but now I would never get ride of my Sub and lose all the musical impact a Sub can bring
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
uberwaltz-
  Miller
Serious question.
Do you think a room the OP,s size of just 10x9x8 could handle a DBA or even two subs?

Yes. Without a doubt. The whole reason for DBA is to smooth out room modes that are created by rooms being smaller than the lowest wave lengths. Totally stands to reason that the smaller the room the worse the modes and the more the benefit of multiple subs.

I think where people get screwed up is thinking that adding subs means more and more and more bass. This is NOT the case! Each sub that is added the volume of ALL the subs is reduced. There are more subs but each sub puts out less volume. All together they add up to the right balance. Only better. Because to get that balance with one or two subs there’s always a hump or two that you have to live with in order to not have a suckout hole or drop-off. But with multiple subs the humps are almost non-existent and there is no dropout. That’s why everyone with a DBA raves about how smooth, fast, articulate and DEEP their DBA goes.
noromance's avatar
noromance
9,833 posts
 
Play a bassy track. Reduce the sub output and tune the cutover to lower than you had. It should just barely add in the lower frequencies. 
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