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

Subs have an inherent delay which a lot of times causes Phase Canceling .
When using room correction software ,the delay that is setup for your Sub , is actually delaying the signal to your speakers to match the inherent delay in the sub. You see a lot of people and places talking about delaying the signal to the sub, but you are actually delaying the signal to the L/R speaker to match the inherent delay in the Sub
This software usually sets the subwoofer distance quite a bit farther than it actually is. Leave it that way . This is how it compensates .
So if you need to manually set the distance or delay and your are not using room correction software .

A rule of thumb is 1 foot equals 3 millisecond

@rlb61


I know the feeling.


(I own JA Perspectives and Thiel 2.7 speakers).


I’ve never felt a burning need for a subwoofer, but like anyone I can be swayed by all the talk about how subwoofers substantially improve a sound system, even when you add them to floor standing speakers.


I bought a couple JL Audio e110 too! Also the JL Audio CR1 crossover.I initially did a bunch of experimenting, following the basic rules of adding a sub and, yes, I heard some expanded soundstage/dimensionality etc. But what I couldn’t shake is that adding the sub changed the character to my ear of the entire speaker. The tonality changed from the mids up to the highs. Even as I played with phase and volume level I could never get rid of the problem that the sub would add, but also subtract. And I’d always prefer the tonality and punch of the system without the sub.



What does this say? To me it doesn’t determine that I don’t like the trade-off with subs necessarily. It may certainly be possible to maintain the same sonic character of the speaker and only add low bass. But it DOES tell me that trying to get that balance if FRIGGIN’ HARD...and it’s no wonder you see all the subwoofer-heads talking about taking weeks even months to dial in a sub, and/or employing all sorts of trial and error with DSP to get it just right.


So, could I get it "just right" to please my picky ears?


I hold out hope. But it’s such a hassle that I haven’t bothered to try again in...I dunno...at least a year. I’m trying to get myself to set them up again, and give it a longer more rigorous try, and then decide whether to throw in the towel.


(I’ve been wanting to upgrade my Perspectives to the graphene version, but don’t have the money, so I’ve contemplated selling all my subwoofer stuff to pay for the upgrade. Which is why I want to first give them a real try first).

This is why I have simply gone back to using speakers that are full range.  No matter what, mulitple subs, software etc... it's always off just a bit for me.  

No substitute for displacement.  That said, I realize many are space or spouse challenged.  In that case, get the best software correction you can.

Even better bass than you have now with the Graphene version.

The more I listen to and enjoy the Pulsars without the sub, the more I'm inclined to bag the sub and avoid the hassle. At this point, I'd rather worry about the music than the gear.