Do you think you need a subwoofer?

Dear friends: Two weeks ago the left channel Velodyne subwoofer ( in my system ) goes down ( till today I don't even have time to make the diagnosis to repair it. ) and till today it is in the same state.

Well, this trouble let me change some things in my system that were very interesting and learning about:

the first action that I take was to disconnect the subwoofer left signal and connected to the available right channel subwoofer ( left and right signals in the same subwoofer ) , this right channel subwoofer is placed in an almost " open " place/position with out any wall reinforcement ( this is its original position ). I don't change the crossover frequency not even the subwoofer output level, well it sounds but in " bad " way: the response was to strong, a little congested and with too many room resonances ( that before I never experience ), I set up with low output level but things were out of my satisfaction.
So I decided to change this right channel ( the one that is working, the other was down. ) subwoofer in the same position where was the left channel one ( down one ) that has a corner wall reinforcement, well all those " wrong " subwoofer bass response disappear and everything goes on " focus " with out reproduction trouble and with out any change on crossover frequency or output level.

How sounds this alone subwoofer against the normal two subwoofers arrangement?, well it sounds good ( very good ) but the two subwoofer ( true stereo fashion ) set up is really better and worth it.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul,

Davehrab posted 2 links when you first raised this issue.
Go back to first page of this Forum to click the links.

Here are two articles that you might find very interesting. They go a little beyond what is normally touched on here in the forum.

Read THIS and THIS

I've intergrated my 15 inch Velodyne sub to my NHT3.3 main speakers (which are -3db@ 23hz) by setting the sub crossover at 45hz just like the article says, and it works GREAT.

Easy, and quick reading ... soon the student will be the teacher.

Good Luck, Dave
Davehrab (Threads | Answers)

I just moved to new digs in Scottsdale, Az. My stereo rig sounds so different here because of the room. The floors are French limestone blocks, 12 foot ceilings, the room is 14x30 with a totally glass wall on one side, and an open floor plan on the other. The bass is nearly non-existant and the echo is severe. ..sounds like 2 sub-woofers are in order to bolster the Vandersteen 5A's.

Dear Halcro: Yes, I already read it.

What I want point in my last post is that ( at least in my system/room ) the wall subwoofer reinforcement position help to smooth the bass response against an " open " subwoofer position.

The other subject was to re-confirm that the use of subwoofers has to be in true stereo way.

I already point it out that IMHO the most important improvement that we can/could have adding a pair of true stereo way subwoofers is to lower the intermodulation distortion on the main spekaers, in this way you don't only have ( for the first time ) true undistorted low bass response ( that when you hear it for the first time it will be extremly hard to live with out it. ) but you clean up all the whole system frequency response: mid bass, midrange and high frequencies, that give to us several advantages : lower distortion response, lower coloration, higher accuracy response, better dynamics, improve over all the sounstage/imagin/focus, improve on inner detail perception, etc, etc that at the " end of the day " can(could take us nearer to the recording and nearer to the live event.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Dear Stringree: Well a not easy room. Adding two subwoofers in real stereo fashion will be help you in many ways but additional to that that room could need some kind of " treatment " trying to even its frequency response and kill those echoes.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.