Two Subs Better Than One?

[gene]

The answer to this question is typically yes, assuming you’re comparing one vs. two subs of the exact same brand and model #. In almost all circumstances, installing multiple subwoofers in your theater room will yield significantly better and smoother bass response across a wider listening area due to modal averaging. When deciding on getting either a single large sub, or two smaller ones, I'd usually recommend the latter. If its a hard sell to your wife, tell her you're not doing it for yourself but for the benefit of your mother-in-law.

Read: Are Two Subs Better than One?

[nickboros]

Gene,

You weren't really specific about the subwoofer placement and setup. Usually with two subs it is recommended that they are located at the midpoints of two opposing walls in a rectangular room, but it didn't sound like you did this and yet still got very nice results. Also, what about phase? Usually they are supposed to be out of phase with each other. I think that the Axioms just have a 0/180 degree toggle switch. So, were they out of phase with each other?

- Nick

[gene]

Gene,

You weren't really specific about the subwoofer placement and setup. Usually with two subs it is recommended that they are located at the midpoints of two opposing walls in a rectangular room, but it didn't sound like you did this and yet still got very nice results. Also, what about phase? Usually they are supposed to be out of phase with each other. I think that the Axioms just have a 0/180 degree toggle switch. So, were they out of phase with each other?

Sorry Nick but I lost my license for Visio and couldn't do a room sketch.

Basically sub 1 was placed towards the front left corner behind the "mother-in-law" couch.

Sub 2 was placed almost diagonally across from it towards the back right of the room which opens into the kitchen.

There was no need to configure them out of phase as they blended much better in phase. I adjusted subwoofer distance until it blended best with my mains. I will try to edit my article to clarify this.

[GlocksRock]

Get google's sketch up and make a drawing... it's free and pretty nice too actually.

[lsiberian]

This again demonstrates why it's better to have 2 decent subs rather than one great sub. You sacrifice some output, but you can't match the quality and correction you get.

[no. 5]

You weren't really specific about the subwoofer placement and setup. Usually with two subs it is recommended that they are located at the midpoints of two opposing walls in a rectangular room, but it didn't sound like you did this and yet still got very nice results.

That is but one recommendation for placing two subwoofers, and in any event, it is only a starting point, as listener position and acoustics of the room really have the last say about what locations are best.

Also, what about phase? Usually they are supposed to be out of phase with each other.

There too, the measured behavior of the subs in room will dictate what needs to be done to make them play well together, not the simulated ideal, as even rooms with the same dimensions can have different low frequency behavior depending on construction, doors, windows, etc.

[gene]

Guys;

I placed a link to Multi Subwoofer Connection Guide in my article that gives you possible layout scenarios for optimal sub placement. I also discuss how to connect them and set them up properly.

The problem with generic placement suggestions is they typically only work in rectangular rooms that have 4 walls. Most people don't have this luxury. Even if they do, they almost can never place them on the mid points of each wall due to asthetics. This is why I recommend placement symmetry as much as possible to create that "virtual" subwoofer effect that I described in my article. If you don't have test gear, use our "Crawling for bass" techninque to find the optimal placements. Good luck.

[Matt34]

Great article, I could get away with running a single sub in my old, small, sealed dedicated room but in my large open floor plan living room you have to run multiple subs to get a decent FR.


Edit: Cause I can't type on my BB.

[nickboros]

Thanks gene and no.5. You cleared up my questions.

[Davemcc]

I know everybody says that you should only use identical subs, but I had awesome results running my PB12-Plus and STF-3 in tandem. Even when the situation isn't ideal, experimentation can be your friend.