Two subwoofers are almost always a good idea, yes. It isn't about being able to play louder though. It's more about being able to get more even bass response (no bass notes sounding way louder or way quieter than others due to the way bass bounces around any room and sometimes "doubles up" or "cancels out" at certain bass notes when the sound waves "line up" in just the right way with the reflected sound waves that bounce off of the walls interfering with the sound waves that are coming directly out of the subwoofer). You also get this more even bass response at a greater number of seats. When you have just one, primary seat to worry about, if you are very careful with where you place the subwoofer, you can often get it so that you have no giant dips, and only a couple of peaks. The peaks can be brought down with EQ. Audyssey MultEQ can do this automatically, which is a big reason why I like it so much
When you have only one subwoofer though, there is no avoiding having some big dips at other seats. And if your placement options are limited for where you can put the subwoofer, even with just one seat, you might get big dips. EQ cannot fix dips in the frequency response. Dips happen when the sound waves that bounce off of the walls "double back" and cancel out the sound waves that are coming from the subwoofer. So no amount of increasing the output is going to help! The sound waves at that frequency are still going to just cancel each other out
So adding a second subwoofer can really help with that. With two sources of bass (both playing the same thing, but just in two different locations), if the output from one subwoofer gets cancelled out by a reflected sound wave off of a wall, you have the other subwoofer to "fill in" that dip for you.
You still have to be careful with placement. The mere presence of two subwoofers doesn't automatically mean more even bass response across all of your seats. What you will usually want to do is have the two subwoofers directly opposite one another. So one subwoofer on the front wall, and the 2nd subwoofer on the back wall. Or one subwoofer on the left wall, and the 2nd subwoofer on the right wall. Having them opposite one another like that usually works out well. Not 100% of the time, but it's usually the best way to start
Since the
SKW204 is so inexpensive (only $90 from accessories4less!
) , it would barely put you over budget to add a 2nd sub! Hard to argue with that!
That said, most people only use 1 subwoofer and are perfectly ok with it. Most people aren't super critical in their listening and don't really notice that some bass notes are louder or quieter than the rest. And a lot of folks don't invest in running 2 or 4 subwoofers until they are using much more expensive and larger subwoofers. But at $90? It is very hard to say it is anything other than a great idea! Two inexpensive but still pretty darn good subs like the SKW204 can actually perform better than a single subwoofer that costs more than the two SKW204 combined! It's all about the room acoustics, and no lone subwoofer is immune from reflecting bass waves. So I have to agree with your friend. Two subwoofers are not
necessary, but it is certainly very often beneficial. And with the price of the SKW204 being so low, it's kinda hard to resist.
You should be aware that you do not HAVE to use all 7 speakers just because you have them! In fact, in many situations 5 speakers are actually better. Again, it all comes down to room acoustics.
Look at the
THX guidelines for how to place your speakers. Notice how the "surround" 4th & 5th speakers are actually supposed to go directly to either SIDE of your seats. Not behind, as so many people mistakenly think. They are "surround" speakers, not "back" speakers like so many people mistakenly think they are. The surround speakers are also meant to go up high. About 2-3 feet above your head when you are sitting down. All of this is to mimic the speakers that you would find in a movie theater. You've probably noticed that in a movie theater, the side walls are lined with speakers, and those speakers are way up high
Now, those surround speakers to your sides and up high will do a great job of enveloping and surrounding you with sound, just like a movie theater. It is only when you have AT LEAST 4-5 feet of space behind you that you might start to notice a little bit of a "gap" directly behind you in the surround sound field. That is where the 6th & 7th "surround back" speakers come into play. They go directly on the back wall, also up high, and they fill in that full surround field so that it truly goes all the way around you. But you only need those 6th & 7th speakers if you have a good amount of space from the back of your seats to the back wall behind you. Like I say, AT LEAST 4-5 feet of space, and more like around 8 feet or more, to be honest. If you use the surround back 6th & 7th speakers with less space behind you than that, it can actually sound worse! You don't want any speaker that close to your ears. They'll just draw way too much attention to themselves. Surround effects are meant to create ambience and the occasional sound effect. Not scream, "Hey! I'm a speaker playing right into the back of your head! Forget the action on screen and pay attention to ME!!!" That's a bad thing
So yeah, don't be afraid to use "only" 5 speakers if that's what your seating position calls for. You are not obligated to use all 7 speakers and all 7 amps in the receiver, simply because they exist. Also, you never have to worry about "missing" sound in any 7.1 recordings. If you use 5 speakers, when you are setting up your receiver, you simply set the "surround back" channels to "none". That tells the receiver that you are only using 5 speakers. And if you play a 7.1 soundtrack from Blu-ray or something, the receiver will automatically reroute the 6th & 7th channels to your existing 4th & 5th surround speakers. So no sound ever gets "lost". It just gets rerouted. No worries.
I'm glad you found my reply helpful. I have been an avid home theater enthusiast for many years now. Honestly though, I still find the most enjoyment in "beginner" systems. There's just something so exciting about starting fresh and building that first, great home theater! That's why I hang out here. Once you get to your 7th complete system like I'm building now, and $3000 each speakers and receivers and such, which is the sort of gear I'm saving up for these days, truthfully, it's a HUGE case of diminishing returns, and it's more about agonizing over minutia and chasing after "perfection" than it is any real, substantial improvements. The beginner and entry and first step into genuine HiFi systems are where there's the most excitement, to be honest. The improvements at each phase are so large and exciting! And you can really see and hear where your money is going, instead of getting to the point where each so-called "upgrade" is really more about hearing something "different" than outright "better"
For $600 though? This Onkyo speaker set and a Denon 1712 is just killer. I mean, it honestly bowls me over just how good a "beginner" system can be these days for so little money, relatively speaking
And being able to even have dual subwoofers right off the bat at that price point? Amazing. It's the reason I come here. I've wasted SO much money over the years. So I love to try and pass along that knowledge and save other folks from my regrets. If I'd started with a system like this rather than the $450 HTIB that was my first system and didn't even last me a year? Yup, I would have been much further ahead. So this is a great start for you. And your next system, should you ever decide to buy one, can skip right past an "entry level" system and go right to some genuine HiFi! That will save you a lot of money in the long run. And in two steps, you'll be where I was at step 4! And you'll have saved THOUSANDS of dollars over what I spent in order to learn that lesson
As for hiding wires, never forget that you can often tuck speaker wire right along or even behind your baseboard. If your baseboard is white, just get some white speaker wire like this
speaker wire from monoprice
Another great option for "hiding" speaker wire out in the open is to use flat, paintable speaker wire.
Axiom Audio and
FlatWire both offer flat, paintable speaker wire. It's a bit expensive, so the best way to use it is to run regular speaker wire as far as you can, and then transition over to the flat wire anywhere the regular speaker wire would be a visible eyesore
Parts-Express also has flattened, white speaker wire. It's not the super flat, paintable wire like the Axiom or FlatWire kind, but it's a lot flatter than normal wire, and a great, affordable way to hide speaker wire along baseboard.
Hope that helps!
