How many subwoofers are you using in your main system or home theater?

3dbinCanada said:
Here's a question for those of you using REW and a miniDSP or similar device.. Do you EQ your subs flat or do you use a Harmon curve, the output level drop from 30Hz to 80 Hz by 10db. I've been using them and find the sound very natural, not bass heavy at all. I use it for both HT and 2 channel applications. I tend to bump the levels on the AVR for HT cause I love good vibrations :p
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With me it’s the same basic idea as @ddude003 , just with a less elegant set of tools than he’s using. :)

With Dirac I use a 0.5dB per octave slope. (Approximately 5dB down from 20Hz to 20kHz)
To that I’ll add dynamic loudness at low volumes courtesy of the HTP-1 processor. And I’ll also use bass and treble controls at times to adjust the tonal balance to taste. Another feature of the HTP-1 which also allows for selection of the knee frequencies.
 
Sonnie Parker said:
Tell as much or as little as you'd like.

How many subs do you use in your main listening room or home theater?
What are the brands?
How are you equalizing your subs?
Do you have plans to add more?

I'm currently satisfied with my setup of two JTR 4000ULF-TL Captivators + six 2400 Captivators. I'm using the two 4000 units with dual 18s as my main subwoofers, and the other six are support subs using Dirac Live ART.

22,400 watts powering ten 18-inch subs in a 19.5ft x 23.5ft x 8.5ft fully sealed room. :hsd:
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4 SVS PB3000 eq with Minidsp using MSO to flat across 4 seats so single sub out on Arcam AVR20 with DLBC.
No plans to add more
 
I have 4 subs.

2xYamaha HS10W - Front Wall ~3' from left and right wall on floor
2x Yamaha SW181v3 about 8' from the front wall, up against left and right wall on the floor. Run off of a Behringer Inuke 3000DSP
I was using a miniDSP-2x4 balanced to handle delays and crossovers... But eventually I decided I wanted to use convolution, and I wanted to be able to change room curves, correction, and latency from the computer.

Now I am running VSTHost on my computer, using plugins for each of the crossovers and delays for my subwoofers (I'm using Pro-Q3).
I have multiple mixes running in VSTHost, but all of the crossover settings are the same for each mix. The only thing that changes is room curve and the convolution applied.
1. Convolution - flat - no room curve (sounds very accurate, but way too bright. Good for getting a clinical look at a mix, not really fun to listen to. If I mix a whole song with this setting it ends up being too dark)
2. Convolution - Harmon Curve (sounds good. Great for mixing.)
3. No Convolution - Low latency (sounds good enough. I have a lot of treatment, but some of the issues with the room make themselves known with this setup.
4. Convolution - Party Curve +6dB--6dB (can't remember exactly. (Sounds really great. Accurate enough. Very good stereo image. Great for mixing or listening.
5. No Convolution - low latency - Party Curve. (Sounds really good. Not great for mixing, but for writing music or jamming it's perfect).

I used the Dave Brancato room correction method from Gearspace/YouTube. It's an excellent way to use Room EQ Wizard and dig a bit deeper into what is possible with correction. The only thing that would be better would be a Trinnov.

Having gone from hardware to software I can recommend it if you don't mind getting into the weeds on configuration and routing.

I do not have plans to add more subs, but I might replace all of my subs with DiY at some point. It would be nice to have more control over the size of the boxes and placement in the room.

Other details:
Mains are Neumann KH120s
My room is 11.5'x7.5'x26'
Primary purpose is stereo listening room/audio production studio.
The ceiling is completely covered in 12"-24" of bass trapping. The corners are treated.
 
Two PSA TV2112 and two TV2410, so essentially three 21’s😃
 
Onetrack97 said:
There are some really impressive systems in this list. My subwoofer system is the best I’ve ever heard, because I haven’t heard yours!

I have a dedicated “movie/tv” room on the 2nd floor.

The room is 22’ x 16’ x 8’. The room has a guest room door rear-center, an attic access door and closet door in the right front corner, and the rooms entry is a double/French door in the rear right corner.

I’m running three subs:
- (2) Power Sound Audio V1500 (15” ported)
- (1) Power Sound Audio EV1813M (18” ported)
Positioned in the front corners and rear left corner.

Controlled via MiniDSP 2x4HD calibrated via Multi-Sub Optimizer.

KEF R3 Meta & R6 Meta crossed over at 100 Hz.
Surrounds are in-wall Revel;
Height speakers are in-ceiling Monitor Audio;

TV is floor mounted LG 77” OLED floating just above a credenza.

I’m currently working on upgrading my acoustic room treatments.


View attachment 77382
This is subs-only from left seat (only normally use two seats), no smoothing in this graph.

View attachment 77383
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I added a 4th sub, the PSA TV21NEO-M.

I’ve recalibrated everything with Multi-Sub Optimizer in two configurations.
- Four Corners (right rear not in corner but close)
- 21” Near Field directly behind the two seats and three subs in the corners.

Being on the 2nd floor above a large open space area, we get plenty of tactile response at the seats. The Near Field configuration pushes the sound waves right through the back of the chairs.
 
I still think, that for the best sound you can get from your room and subwoofers set, you need to understand, that room and set have to be in "Harmony" together. AND for this goal only one, or maximum two subs is enough. It means, that your sub or any other low frequencies source can be antagonist with room dimensions and sharp. The room must to have Acoustical dimensions in relation to your LF source. If "Yes", it will be quite easy to get smooth and flat FR for LF range. The second sub plays role to support the first one and no more.
 
2 and not enough !
 
4. 2 in front speakers, 2 wide rear, music only.
 
There are two opposite points of view in this question. The first - it is possible to repair any problem in LF range by means of adding LF sources. No doubts, it's true, but you have to use too many LF sources sometimes. Trinnov audio is the first, who can use such a method successfully. The second - to use Acoustical dimensions concept, which allows to reach this "Harmony" with one, maximum two subs. The choice is yours.
 
I have 6 sealed subs in a dedicated HT in my basement. Four Ultimax 15’s in the corners and two Ultimax 18’s behind an AT screen in front. I use a MiniDSP 4x2 HD for alignment, and Audessey on my Denon 6700. Final calibration using A1 EVO. Sounds excellent!
 
basscleaner said:
There are two opposite points of view in this question. The first - it is possible to repair any problem in LF range by means of adding LF sources. No doubts, it's true, but you have to use too many LF sources sometimes. Trinnov audio is the first, who can use such a method successfully. The second - to use Acoustical dimensions concept, which allows to reach this "Harmony" with one, maximum two subs. The choice is yours.
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The majority of us have no choice because we use rooms that were not laid out with bass in mind. One sub will never do even in those room's sweet spot as there is no sweet spot in the range from 20Hz to 100Hz. . Multiple subs, REW, and an external DSP like a miniDSP are the only solutions.
 
I have 3 on a minidsp, one is passive. One is a kc62 and aesthetics limit placement. One sub adds little in response but does even out some bad seating locations a bit. I may need to try MSO but it is a pain if only can get Java drivers to work with REW.

I saw a white paper on this issue:


So if one has infinite placement flexibility (not me), 4 is as good as infinite, and 2 nearly as good as 4.
 
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3dbinCanada said:
The majority of us have no choice because we use rooms that were not laid out with bass in mind. One sub will never do even in those room's sweet spot as there is no sweet spot in the range from 20Hz to 100Hz. . Multiple subs, REW, and an external DSP like a miniDSP are the only solutions.
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Sorry, but I don't understand, what do you mean under "sweet spot"? If we're talking about a number of such a LF source positions, where the FR to be smooth and without big deviations as a result of task solving with multyple parameters, then it means, that for these parameters, including room dimensions and shapes, there will be the best and worth decisions. Therefore, it is real possibility to use one or two subs without a large number of LF sources. Especially taking into consideration, that main loudspeakers are capable to take part into performing :-))
 
basscleaner said:
Sorry, but I don't understand, what do you mean under "sweet spot"? If we're talking about a number of such a LF source positions, where the FR to be smooth and without big deviations as a result of task solving with multyple parameters, then it means, that for these parameters, including room dimensions and shapes, there will be the best and worth decisions. Therefore, it is real possibility to use one or two subs without a large number of LF sources. Especially taking into consideration, that main loudspeakers are capable to take part into performing :-))
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The sweet spot is the listener position in the room. One sub will never evenly pressurize a room, especially a room that was built for living accommodations rather than designed around sound. Throw in the SAF (spousal acceptance factor as far as room layout goes) and it makes the one sub a thing of the past. Even in the sweet spot, its very rare to get an even bass response from 20 to 80 Hz without some form of DSP.
 
3dbinCanada said:
The sweet spot is the listener position in the room. One sub will never evenly pressurize a room, especially a room that was built for living accommodations rather than designed around sound. Throw in the SAF (spousal acceptance factor as far as room layout goes) and it makes the one sub a thing of the past. Even in the sweet spot, its very rare to get an even bass response from 20 to 80 Hz without some form of DSP.
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Give A1 Evo a try, you might like it👍
 
JStewart said:
What problem might you run into with only Java drivers?
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MSO is much more complex to use without the ASIO drivers. Speaker connections need to be changed. It can be done though. An awesome forum member here gave me directions.
 
schmidtwi said:
I have 6 sealed subs in a dedicated HT in my basement. Four Ultimax 15’s in the corners and two Ultimax 18’s behind an AT screen in front. I use a MiniDSP 4x2 HD for alignment, and Audessey on my Denon 6700. Final calibration using A1 EVO. Sounds excellent!
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I'll bet that sounds sublime!
 
3dbinCanada said:
The sweet spot is the listener position in the room. One sub will never evenly pressurize a room, especially a room that was built for living accommodations rather than designed around sound. Throw in the SAF (spousal acceptance factor as far as room layout goes) and it makes the one sub a thing of the past. Even in the sweet spot, its very rare to get an even bass response from 20 to 80 Hz without some form of DSP.
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Your statement is in clear contradiction with the theory of multivariant analisys. And my practic too.
 
Suggesting not to use more than one sub to help even out a response in a room? First I've heard of it.

But, let's start with multivariate analysis... that's something I learned in advanced stats in grad school... tho, it's not so much a theory but a mathematical practice. How does that apply to subwoofers in a room?
 
basscleaner said:
Your statement is in clear contradiction with the theory of multivariant analisys. And my practic too.
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Good luck to you if you think one sub could pressurize this room evenly

Great72.jpg
Great81.jpg
 
Usher99 said:
MSO is much more complex to use without the ASIO drivers. Speaker connections need to be changed. It can be done though. An awesome forum member here gave me directions.
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With an MSO sub only configuration just set the XO on the fronts to the highest value available and disconnect one of the fronts. Signal sent to the disconnected front will only go to sub out. Use the other front for timing reference.
This method also has the benefit of not being restricted by the LPF for LFE filter. So the sub will play higher frequencies than when using the LFE channel, unless of course your processor allows you to turn it off.
Easy peasy. No need for ASIO.
If you’re connecting REW to your processor with HDMI the EXCL labeled drivers will allow you to directly access all channels. Available in current version of REW. So, still no need for ASIO, but I’d still go with my first suggestion if you can’t deactivate the LPF for LFE. :)
 
3dbinCanada said:
Good luck to you if you think one sub could pressurize this room evenly

View attachment 83863View attachment 83864
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Acoustics rules are not a tenet, but a method to avoid of rough mistakes. This room doesn't seems to me simple. However, we have to remember some of them. The first of all, good bass responce requires dense and massive fences. For this room we see to many windows, which hinder in following it. The second, your hall has some connected rooms. The third, there are many soft furniture subjects - sofas, armchairs and I'm not sure, that wall and ceiling finishing is done without gaps between masonry and plasterboard "blankets". All these circumstances exclude, as a rule, a possibility to use only one-two subs. Undoubtedly.
 
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