Bass management setup for 3-way system with dual subs — “Small” vs “Full-range + Sub”?

[zangaidaige]

Hi everyone,


I’m planning to build a 3-way system (crossover points: 200 Hz / 1800 Hz) with two subwoofers, and I’m trying to understand how to configure bass management correctly in Audiolense.


Plan A:
Set the left and right channels as “Small” with an 80 Hz crossover.
→ Both subs would offload the low end from the main channels, but the mains would lose all content below 80 Hz.


Plan B:
Set the left and right channels as “Full-range + Sub” with an 80 Hz crossover.
→ All four low-frequency sources (the mains’ internal woofers + two subs) would contribute to the final result.
In this case, what exactly is the optimization goal?
Would the two subs be optimized separately for each channel, or would all four low-frequency drivers (< 80 Hz) be integrated together into a single optimized result?


Thanks for any clarification or examples of how others have handled similar setups!

 

[Ofer]

Is the 3-way system going to be fully active? Separate amplification for every driver?

 

[juicehifi]

Start with a 2.2 setup, which whill show you the path. Then adjust for desired offloading frequency to the subs. You may notice that offloading from left and right speaker is set to 80 Hz and 80.1 Hz. This small difference ensures that each speaker gets its unique subwoofer integration.

Then you need to expand left and right speaker (in the xo tab) to include 3 drivers each side.