I figured someone would check me on this! Lol
Sorry for the short hit n run earlier. That’s maybe why I shouldn’t multitask.
Basically between
@shadyJ and @danzilla, they covered what I was saying, in that you can’t just go willy nilly and polo subs wherever they fit and just magically get flat response. The chances are very good that you’ll have good improvement. But there are too many variables to just throw them in there and be done. For example, in my LR, which is sunken by 1’, the two subs in the front of my room are equidistant from my LP BUT due to the angled roof, the left one is under a 9’ ceiling and the right is under a 12’ ceiling. The third sub in the rear left corner is under an 8’ ceiling. The height modes are all different because of this, and on top of that, the room opens to the kitchen, and then the foyer, with a bank of cabinets on the right side of the LR that forms the right wall of the LR between it and the kitchen. Soooooo, even if I had 16 matching subs, it would still take a good deal of time/phase/distance and EQ to be flat. In a perfect room built exclusively for an HT everything can be calculated and multipurpose rooms are more of a wildcard.
Fwiw, don’t think I was sayin not to use multiple subs. I am a firm believer in it. I personally have 3, and ideally will have 4. It is in my LR so....we’ll see.
Well some people maintain if you have multiples of subs say 4 in a room that are identical it should increase output spread the sound across the most seats possible. And with the way the subs cancel out different room modes cancel out nulls and problems with the sound to the point that you have very little need to measure calibrate etc because it should come very close to giving you a flat response across the range across the room without much need for integrating and measuring the subs to make sure they work together that's the rough theory some speculate. Although I'm all the way down for points 1 and 2 William is right it's not as easy as speculated to get the subs to work together it's not just all plug and play and that's it. The biggest factor in all this is the room. Rooms just don't interact that way that easily. The shape materials in the room the size etc etc can all play huge factors in influencing how those subs interact. So no matter what your gonna have to measure and calibrate besides whats the point of having all those subs and extra output if you don't make sure it blends well with your mains? I just want quads for extra output headroom dynamics and more bas across as many seats as possible. Its worth the need to still measure for me
Yeah, that’s pretty much what I was saying. Or not saying...
For what its worth, I am a big believer in multi sub systems, but blindly putting multiple subs throughout the room may not do much to improve the response. The response has to be measured, and placement has to be deliberate, or else the potential advantages of multi sub systems can be wasted.
Exactly. I’ve moved my 3rd sub around the room and it interacts differently everywhere I put it, so it’s phase and EQ time. Definitely CANNOT just plop it. Thank god I have minidsp! But even my BFD was pretty good.
Yeah, I'm totally with both of you. William's short response seemed to rebut darn near all that I've read. I was wondering how he has formed his opinion. I'm not a physicist, but when I did take AP Physics in high school and Physics in college, we study waves. I've seen the words peaks and nulls mentioned. We used the words nodes and antinodes.
I got my second sub to reduce the number of nodes in my room and to increase output. While limited to one specific location
I did achieve an improvement. My desire to add another sub is the same as my second. To say that multiples is overstated doesn't make logical sense to me. If you saturate a space with sound waves coming from different directions, it's going to increase the number of antinodes. Reflections may line up, but the initial interaction of those waves is bound to create more even response throughout the space.
I absolutely agree with proper calibration, using proper equipment and techniques. Returning to single living will give me LOTS of time to "get it right". Every cloud has a silver lining gents!
Sorry about the short response . Wasn’t trying to rebut all you’ve read. Fwiw, I am absolutely a believer in multi subs. I was just pointing out that care still needs to be taken for best results. My opinion has been forged from years of reading and forum duty, as well as integrating my own, and others systems.
Your success with the second sub may have simply been dumb luck. I believe in measurements, and I would have like to see before and afters. The reason I say overstated is exactly for the reasons above. Not that it doesn’t work, just that it takes a little more effort than plunking them down.
Btw, sorry to hear that you’re having to adjust to a new lifestyle. It can definitely be hard to start over.
I think the two subs up front will definitely be better. It definitely is in my room. I had my two big subs in back with the little one in front for a long time. When I swapped them, it was better in every regard.
Damn, that was windy. Hope you didn’t fall asleep...
