Subwoofer vs Large floorstanders

[startingfromscratch]

I only discovered JRiver did this yesterday and I didn't know there was a free trial so thanks for the info, might be just what I need

Dunno your system , but download J rivers trial and use the DSP studio to apply some parametric filters to see if it helps..take it from there.. try a gain of -6db and a q of 2 and then sweep across the low freqs till you target the zone/zones you want to see to and then fine tune em..

 

[Rodney Gold]

just one thing , dont use boost in the bass , you might be trying to correct a destructive null , the more power you pour in the deeper it gets.

In fact rather never use boost if you dont have to , or if you do , make it broad (lower Q) and less than 3db gain...

 

[EGG 1954]

A little while back I posted on this forum asking if it was a good idea to put a filter in the loudspeaker outputs to cancel anything below 70Hz and feed that to the subs. Most threads were positive. I tried it out with the BK downward firing 10" subs - and once I had found the right setting (this took some time as small increments make a big difference) it added to my musical enjoyment. The filters were bought off eBay from a US supplier and were made up on circuit boards, I put them in small boxes and just looped the sub outputs around them. I don't know why I wasn't getting the right bass without subs - when Kevin demoed them they sounded perfect, but at home with low output SE monoblocks in my room etc the depth was missing. Subs sorted it but I got a bit of boom, hence the filters to clean it up.

 

[Tune]

If you must use a subwoofer or two, my suggestion would be to choose a main speaker that works "with" the room rather than against it.

In other words, work out where your main room mode is (it appears to be 50hz from what you are saying but narrow it down.). Then buy a main speaker whose F3 point is high enough to make sure that it is -6db at the point of the room mode.

Once you've done that, add a subwoofer and roll that off so that it is at least -6db at the room mode. DO put the subwoofer in a corner. It is the best place for it for a number of reasons.

If you approach the issue like this, IME you could end up with some decent results without too much hassle. I personally prefer a large loudspeaker because I want the bass energy in the musically important octave between 80hz and 160hz and small speakers rarely get that fully. Remember too that room gain in the bottom two octaves means that loudspeakers don't have to be 20hz-20khz - mine are -3db at 60hz but deliver utterly thunderous bass in room without the need for EQ.

Good luck.