Subwoofer boom is too much for me...

I am using two subs.  My girlfriend has an old pair of JBLs with an old 80s era receiver, which sounds way better than my rig.

@erik_squires My sub doesn't have a port; however, I've been running a cable into the low pass with my Ragnarok as Schiit says their speaker terminals are both active (and thus I don't use their REL cable). However, most guidance says to avoid the HPF altogether. What do you recommend?

However, most guidance says to avoid the HPF altogether. What do you recommend?

Either plug your MAIN speakers or use a high pass filter, or both.

Here’s the deal. Audiophiles get all squirrelly over ethereal sounding qualities of sound but somehow manage to ignore the really big changes. I mean 10 dB or more changes. As a result they are averse to good subwoofer integration.

Here are the problems:

• In the room, the bass output from the main speakers can be wonky. Too much, or peaky, often extending well below 30 Hz even for 2 way speakers. In fact so many users have problems they should deal with acoustically or by placement but they buy a sub instead... :D
• As a result, the only way to use a subwoofer is to fill in that very small range, 16 Hz to 30 Hz or so, and to attempt do do it while side stepping any other room mode problems from the main.
• Distortion in the main speaker is never reduced.
• Dynamic range of the main speakers and amplifier is not increased.

They buy a subwoofer but then treat it like the unloved stepson that barely gets to do anything positive. So audiphiles go through the expense and toil of getting a subwoofer but refuse to use the high pass filter for fear it introduces more noise and distortion, which if true, would be hundreds of times smaller than the problems it fixes. They want a pure benefit, no downside solution only. Never mind the pure benefit is so vastly superior to the downside.

Kind of reminds me of my father, an avid cigar smoker, who claimed he never inhaled, just liked the flavor.

So, high passing the main speakers improves the frequency response by ensuring the mains are out of the way of the worst room modes. Then there’s the distortion benefits. Reducing the bass in a speaker reduces distortion. Subwoofer’s have much better distortion/dynamic range profiles in the 20-80Hz range than your mains. So if you let them overlap you have your main speakers distorting long before the subs do. Especially bad with 2-way speakers as IM distortion/Doppler distortion in the mid range can be pronounced.

The truth is that for your average floor stander to 2-way speaker everything gets easier and better sounding if you limit the output of the main speakers, either by plugging ports in the mains or by using a high pass filter or both. Everyone else is just screwing around.

Certainly we do not want a booming sub but that is not even the critical issue.  The critical issue is NONE of the subwoofers I have tried, including SVS SB 1000 & 2000, Rel T5x and my long-term Audio Research sub could render satisfactory bass in terms of its pace and texture to match with my main speakers.  I am not sure if the servo controlled sub could because I have not tried.  But I could tell you it is so damn difficult to integrate a large woofer controlled by a its own amp with the main speaker/amp. system.  You could mess around with the DSP to address the nulls / humps but the sub would never be able to be nimble enough to catch up with the main and also to match its texture with the main speakers.  Sandy Groves said the same thing and that is why GoldenEar floorstanders come with its built-in sub.  

Use the level and crossover settings on the sub.