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Will I benefit from a subwoofer with 20Hz speakers?

My source is a minidsp shd studio with Dirac going into Denafrips Gaia DDC to Denafrips T+ DAC to McIntosh 601 Monoblocks to Cabasse Pacific 3 speakers. The speaker's published frequency response is 41-20,000Hz. I presume this is achieved in an anechoic chamber. In my room however, it goes down to 20Hz, at least according to the Dirac measurements. In fact, I needed to flatten the curve and  reduce by 5-20 DBs between 20-100Hz due to the room effect.

So, considering I already go down to 20Hz, is there anything else 1 or 2 subwoofers will do for my system?  Would it create a more consistent low frequency field? I see many people adding up to 6 subs, so I wonder what I'm missing. 

Thank you for your insight! 

dmilev73
asvjerry's avatar
asvjerry
4,721 posts
 

All a sub would do is take a load of the mains and introduce complexity into the space.  Quick trick to try is Eriks' eq suggestion. *S*

I could easily live with that curve as is, personally.

Lucky you. ;)

@tablejockey , I'm sorry but la Sphere looks too much like a next millennia Dalek.
I don't like anything that looks like an eye that never blinks trying to hypnotize me with music...and a ball on a spring is....

Hard to take seriously....Seriously. *L*

Thanks, anyway...J

m-db's avatar
m-db
994 posts
 

I've found the optimal room location for the main Speakers ability present a sound stage is usually not one of the rooms  optimal bass modes.There are simply too many room and system variables as well as your personal taste. 

Map your rooms bass modes using the crawl test standing up. Then order some long XLR or RCA interconnect form Blue Jeans or Mono Price.

If your in the U.S. SVS Subwoofers offer what seems to be a simply painless trial period.

I believe their products provide a functional amount of remote equalization, optimization, and gain along with three customizable memory presets that might better match your main speakers low frequency presentation.

Subwoofer single processing is vastly different and typically limiting. Best of luck with it.  

headphonedreams
527 posts
 

@tablejockey I have heard the smaller Pearl speakers that look the same. A few thousand watts of class-d amps makes sure they are VERY dynamic!

I am not sure they went down to 20 Hz in that room but the bass that I heard was Impressive. Drums were really good. Of course they managed voices and other things well also. Just $30k.

gregm
3,408 posts
 

Hi @dmilev73, to echo 1 or 2 posters above,

  • No, you definitely do not need subwoofers in your room
  • I would lift the 20-30Hz by a few dB and lose 6dB 90-60kHz, more or less as per @erik_squires wisely suggests above
  • Bass absorption looks like a plan: you have serious modes in the early 30 Hz & a suck-out a little over 100...

I like those speakers!

djones51
4,947 posts
 

To get a better picture of what's going on use REW and do a measurement with Dirac on and off.

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