A little help please...

[Claus]

Hi,

I am in the process os setting up a little home cinema, up to now I have gotten a Marantz NR1504 receiver and a pair of Kef Q100 as fronts. Sound is ok if I position the KEFs correctly, but I am not 100% happy yet.

I am thinking about upgrading to a 4.1 system, probably with a pair of KEF E 301 as rears (I think they should combine ok with the Q100s, I have no space to put another pair of Q100 as rears.).

The subwoofer for me is a completely new domain, I guess for music I could get along without it, but for watching films it might add a solid ground. The room is not too small (L shaped, about 30 square meters with an open staircase), but the home cinema is on one side of the L. I practically only have two spots to put the subwoofer, marked as "x". The viewing place is "V" and the screen at "S".


=========
|x......|
|V......|
|V.....S|
|V......|
|x......=====
|.......Stair
|.......=====
|............|
|............|
=============


I dont like wobbly basses, so it would be important to have a "tight" sound, and I would have a clear preference for music. I don't need a lot of volume, as the neighbors certainly would complain (the neighbors are on the left side of the picture). So here go my questions

1) Can I put the subwoofer in the "x"? or will the sound come from the left or right?
2) What subwoofer could you advise? About 500$, maybe up to 800$ if this makes things really better.
3) Does size matter? I.e. will a 12 inch sub always sound better than say an 8 inch sub?

I live in Spain, so not all makes are easily available. Velodyne, Kef & Dali are candidates. Edit: I just see SVS is available from Italy, so might the SVS SB1000 fit the bill?

Any help much appreciated!!

 

[afterlife2]

Hi and welcome! How big is your room? Maybe some actual pictures of the room?

 

[j_garcia]

Bass below ~120Hz or so is not directional, so it will not really come from one side or the other, but the locations you've specified may not be the best spots in the room. The best sub placement is not decided by where is "looks" like it should go. 30M square? What is the longest wall length - the one with the system?

 

[Claus]

Hi!

The room is "L" shaped, the longest wall is 7,80 meters (25,5') (the left wall in the drawing). From "V" (Viewing place) to "S" (Screen) wall about 3,8 meters (12,5'). The whole room has 35 square meters (375 sq feet), but is open to the second floor through the stairs. The possible placements "x" are "dictated" by a superior force - to the left or to the right of the sofa. I can play around these positions a little bit.

I should stress that this system will not have to work in loud conditions, my neighbors wouldn´t like.

 

[j_garcia]

Those spots should be sufficient for location due to "dictated" controls, which of course is always a factor However, the SB1000 might not be sufficient for that space; you'd probably have to squeeze the budget a little more and go for the SB2000, though it seems to still fall within the budget I think. You might shoot SVS an email directly and see what they recommend for that space; with the neighbors though, the SB1000 might be enough, and I think it may already get you complaints

 

[afterlife2]

I have the PB1000 and it's more than enough for me in my apt. I too have neighbors so it's not even to it's potential. I second sending a email and asking them just in case.

 

[Basshead81]

+1 on the SB2000.

 

[Claus]

Thanks for your answers! I wrote to SVS and (having reviewed this post) they recommend the 2000 model, saying the limiter might kick in too soon on the 1000 if I want to crank it up a bit. So I guess in my case either will do, but in order to be on the save side I might go for the 2000. Thanks again for your help!

Can the subwoofer be connected to 2 different systems? I.e. I also have a stereo amp in the same room, could I connect it to the same subwoofer as long as the two systems are not used at the same time (without switching cables that is)?

 

[sawzalot]

Thanks for your answers! I wrote to SVS and (having reviewed this post) they recommend the 2000 model, saying the limiter might kick in too soon on the 1000 if I want to crank it up a bit. So I guess in my case either will do, but in order to be on the save side I might go for the 2000. Thanks again for your help!

Can the subwoofer be connected to 2 different systems? I.e. I also have a stereo amp in the same room, could I connect it to the same subwoofer as long as the two systems are not used at the same time (without switching cables that is)?

A cheap analog audio switch could possibly take care of a hookup like that, most enthusiasts would not recommend such a hookup, running from two sources into a Y adapter then onward to the sub could cause you to have a shunt in current thus leading to damage to the outputting circuits (AVR,TV).

 

[markw]

Can the subwoofer be connected to 2 different systems? I.e. I also have a stereo amp in the same room, could I connect it to the same subwoofer as long as the two systems are not used at the same time (without switching cables that is)?

I wouldn't recomment that. If you are willing to switch cables, fine.

Even then, the subwoofer will likely need to be configured differently for each system.

 

[Claus]

OK, I understand one would have to play with the crossover frecuency, but what happens if you leave the two systems connected? Would this change the impedance somehow?