2. speakers
  3. 167223-112871

Single vs. Dual Subs

It's common wisdom that dual or multiple subs help smooth out bass response in different spots in the room, but what about for a dedicated listening room with a fixed single listening position? What do two subs add to the music presentation that a single dialed in sub is missing provided that single sub is dialed in perfectly for the listening position?
Caveat: not interested in the SWARM method or multiple subs at the moment, strictly comparing single to dual subs
divertiti
ieales's avatar
ieales
1,201 posts
 
It depends on the room, the mains and most of all, fc and slope.

If fc and slope reach into the lower mid-bass, one sub is localizable and must be placed between the mains.

IMO, 2 subs are mandatory for 2 channel. 3+ is a crowd.
stringreen's avatar
stringreen
6,455 posts
 
Richard Vandersteen told me the more subs the merrier
Ag insider logo xs@2x
dbphd
1,628 posts
 
I use a pair of Velodyne HGS-15s in the corners of a 14’ X 19’ room with acoustic room correction by an SMS-1 to supplement KEF Reference 1s below 80 Hz @ 24 dB/octave. The result is excellent. I’ve tried a couple of high-pass filters, but they seem to take a bit of air out of the sound, perhaps a peculiarity of the sticking them between an Ayre preamp and amp with the zero feedback.
larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,008 posts
 
I feel a pair of subs help to develop the sound stage.  They can even clean up the mids.
dinov's avatar
dinov
826 posts
 
I’m not a real sub person for stereo, only for my AV system, which I have two. I started with one and noticed a vast improvement with two in terms of balance. 
More to discover