Dual or single woofer surround speakers?

[djsHTnut]

Does anyone have a preference of either having a dual or single Woofer surrounds speaker? I am looking at upgrading my surrounds, I currently have a pair of JBL N26AWII's, which are 6 1/2" woofer, but was trying to decide between just buying another pair, or going with the CVS50 which has dual
5 1/4" woofers. I would need two pairs of the CVS50's so about $250 total, or one pair of the N26AWII at about $74 to complete the 7.1 surround.

ANybody have any thoughts or comments?

 

[j_garcia]

Dual is usually better in my book, but since you already have one pair, I'd say just get another pair. Do you listen to a lot of multichannel music (DVD-A, SACD)?

 

[djsHTnut]

Not yet, but I plan to in the future. I only have 1 DVD-A disc as of now.

 

[j_garcia]

The N26s have a -3dB of 55Hz and an average sensitivity of 88; that should be sufficient for surround duty. Are you happy with the way the pair you have now sound?

 

[emorphien]

I can't find anything on the CVS50, is that a dipolar surround or something?

In any case, generally whether 2 or 3 is better depends IMO. It depends on driver quality, configuration, etc. I don't have an answer (and don't think there is a simple one).

 

[djsHTnut]

sorry it is CVSAT50, they are JBL's. I do like the N26's, but I wasnt sure if the dual woofers would sound better. I havent had any with dual woofers before. I do like a full sound, and thought maybe the dual woofers would help for the surrounds. It can get either one cheap so price isnt so much an issue.

 

[j_garcia]

Those guys are +2dB more sensitive than the N26s, which is the main thing you gain with a dual woofer arrangement. It doesn't sound "different" it just plays louder with less input power compared to a similar design speaker with a single woofer. It only lists the -6dB for the CVSAT50s (55Hz), so can't compare exactly, but it sounds like it won't be any lower than the N26s. It doesn't seem like it would be much of an upgrade to go with the CVSATS to me.

 

[djsHTnut]

that seems logical. I am running a Pioneer 1016 right now, so far it provides ample power with no distortion. My room is 25' x 16'. I will upgrade the receiver later, it is only 1 month old now. Are you running single woofer surrounds?

 

[j_garcia]

I use 5 of the same dual woofer speakers. I did go from the single driver version to the dual but only because I got a great deal on them and already had a buyer for the others. There is a little more midrange, but the sound isn't a night and day difference. The main reason I got these instead was because they were an exact match for my mains.

 

[u2generator]

Just looking through speaker reviews there are single woofer drivers that out perform dual woofers. I think it depends more on the design of the speaker cabinet and the quality of the drivers. There are no easy answers.

 

[emorphien]

Just looking through speaker reviews there are single woofer drivers that out perform dual woofers. I think it depends more on the design of the speaker cabinet and the quality of the drivers. There are no easy answers.

Agreed. The number of drivers in this case really is immaterial IMO.

 

[djsHTnut]

what are some that you would suggest?