Are big subwoofers viable for 2 channel music?


In thinking about subwoofers to get for a large future listening space (30' x 30'). So far there seems to be a lot of great options for smaller subs for music.. such as the rel s812. Now my main focus will be music but I do plan to do some home theater on the system and I do enjoy subs that reach low and have strong but clear sub-bass. Would a large sealed sub still be able to provide clean tight bass that digs low and thus satisfy both duties. Can it ever match the speed and precision of a pair or more of rel 812s? Something like PSA S7201 or Captivator RS2?

A realize a smaller sub has a smaller moving mass and thus for a given level of power would be faster than a bigger sub with a bigger moving mass (driver mass). But a large sub would have to move less to achieve the same SPL and would reach lower.

Anyhow what do you guys think? Thanks.
smodtactical

When it comes to big vs little subs and one vs many, I don't care.  I just want the best performance for the money.  I already have a Velodyne dd18, Infinity Intermezzo 1.2, and the tiny PSB.  One thing that I know is that it's impossible to get flat bass in any room I've ever been in with a single sub and without a lot of bass traps and eq.  I tried when I was in my twenties and it's not worth the trouble.  I did get really flat bass with the help of 25+ bass traps and extreme eq.  It sounded weird, though, and I didn't stick with it.  I find the claim that multiple subs can solve a lot of room problems plausible.  The more you have the less hard they all have to work and I'm confident the room nulls can be solved by this.  Since the more you have the lower volume setting they'll all have, the node excitement is bound to be reduced.  The main problem with small subs IMO is that the small driver needs extreme excursion which means extreme pressure in the box and a ton of power.  These things are very bad for longevity.  

I'm not opposed to having 10 18" high sensitivity subs but if I can avoid it I will.  I agree that high sensitivity has a sound characteristic that I like.  

I can confirm that the Snap AV sub is a good quality littlle sub.  It's got good output down to 37hz, pretty much done by 30hz.  For an 8" sub for $112 on ebay it's a steal.  Gloss black box, good controls,  I wonder if all custom install only brands have terrible resale value.

["jon_5912       I already have a Velodyne dd18,    One thing that I know is that it's impossible to get flat bass in any room I've ever been in with a single sub and without a lot of bass traps and eq."] 

I suggest using the TIP: on page 23 in the Velodyne DD User's Manual or running the Sweep Tones while walking (Crawl Test) your room and mapping the the loudest bass modes for a potential sub position. 

If your DD-18 is positioned in your rooms loudest bass mode resulting from the TIP or Crawl Test with the mic at the listening position you should see a reasonably improved before and after result after running the Self EQ.

The initial goal is a relitivly even (not ruler flat) frequency response from the speakers 200Hz and the subs frequency adjustments beginning at 100Hz to where your speakers just begin to fall off. These are your crossover region adjustments which should be saved to your presets. Everything below that frequency are personal taste levels.  

Unfortunately the manual LOW PASS, SUBSONIC, CONTOUR frequencies / slopes, PHASE and POLARITY parameter adjustments can be a tedious task using the sweep tones and confirmed with some music, also stored to memory.

Despite its twenty year old software these efforts will result in greater adjustability and detail compared to most any current onboard subwoofer processing today. Hardly impossible.

DD Plus does it all along with added discrete Q filter building automatically leaving some quick multiple drag and drop Manual matter of taste adjustments.   

Any recommendations for an 18" sub driver good for music? I heard the pro audio drivers tend to put out more mid bass than HT focused drivers like dayton UM18s.