More subs less power vs a single sub

[ThEwHiStLeR]

I was wondering which would sound better. A single 15" subwoofer pushed with 1000 watts, or ten 15" subwoofers with 100 watts each?

 

[isolar8001]

You wonder too much.

 

[ThEwHiStLeR]

You wonder too much.

That may be true, but I'd still like to know the answer. I know someone knows, if you don't know you can simply say nothing.

 

[isolar8001]

I was wondering which would taste better. A single Quarter Pounder with twenty pieces of Cheese, or ten Quarter Pounders with two pieces of Cheese each ?

 

[j_garcia]

10 subs still have more surface area, even with less power, it should have more output. Depends on the room though, with that many subs in a less than optimal area, there will be cancellation.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

There’s sooooo much more to it……

 

[ThEwHiStLeR]

10 subs still have more surface area, even with less power, it should have more output. Depends on the room though, with that many subs in a less than optimal area, there will be cancellation.

j_garcia - Thanks for commenting without being a snarky. I appreciate it. I figured that more surface area might be better, but with less watts I wasn't sure.

 

[ThEwHiStLeR]

I was wondering which would taste better. A single Quarter Pounder with twenty pieces of Cheese, or ten Quarter Pounders with two pieces of Cheese each ?

So if I had said two 15" subs using a 2 channel amp at 500 watts per channel, vs one 15" sub with the amp bridged giving the 1 sub 1000 watts, do you still think that is a dumb question? I think it's a very good question because I have had the option to do one of those options or the other in the past and was curious if there was some theories on which would have more output.

 

[everettT]

So if I had said two 15" subs using a 2 channel amp at 500 watts per channel, vs one 15" sub with the amp bridged giving the 1 sub 1000 watts, do you still think that is a dumb question? I think it's a very good question because I have had the option to do one of those options or the other in the past and was curious if there was some theories on which would have more output.

Wattage is only determined after the driver and cabinet type are selected and is pretty much meaningless as to the subwoofer performance. Starting over and stating your goal would be a good idea, not worrying about watts. The performance comes down to the particular driver and the designer.

 

[lovinthehd]

The advantage of multiple subs is more about smoothing room modes than simply extra power. The sensitivity of the sub determines how that power is used; you generally don't get that information, making the wattage alone somewhat meaningless, let alone comparable from sub to sub.

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

So if I had said two 15" subs using a 2 channel amp at 500 watts per channel, vs one 15" sub with the amp bridged giving the 1 sub 1000 watts, do you still think that is a dumb question? I think it's a very good question because I have had the option to do one of those options or the other in the past and was curious if there was some theories on which would have more output.

It really depends on the goal. If you want to have even bass response in the room, more subs is almost always better. But it’s much more complicated than that. And another big question is what’s your definition of “sound better”. Usually even FR yields better sound, so again more subs would be the answer. Power or wattage, only matters when considering the subwoofers overall sensitivity, and particular tuning. Sealed vs ported comes to mind, where ported subs are more efficient vs sealed which don’t have a port to contribute to output. They usually require more power and lots of built in EQ to support really deep bass. So to answer your original question of which way “sounds better” is complicated.

 

[lovinthehd]

So if I had said two 15" subs using a 2 channel amp at 500 watts per channel, vs one 15" sub with the amp bridged giving the 1 sub 1000 watts, do you still think that is a dumb question? I think it's a very good question because I have had the option to do one of those options or the other in the past and was curious if there was some theories on which would have more output.

Personally I'd take the dual subs for the better ability to combat room modes. Keep in mind a doubling of power is only a 3dB spl advantage. Really not about sound quality particularly in that regard (especially at max power).

 

[Swerd]

So if I had said two 15" subs using a 2 channel amp at 500 watts per channel, vs one 15" sub with the amp bridged giving the 1 sub 1000 watts, do you still think that is a dumb question? I think it's a very good question because I have had the option to do one of those options or the other in the past and was curious if there was some theories on which would have more output.

Personally I'd take the dual subs for the better ability to combat room modes. Keep in mind a doubling of power is only a 3dB spl advantage. Really not about sound quality particularly in that regard (especially at max power).

I agree with lovinthehd.

The real issue with subs is not how much amp power you use to drive them, but where you put them in your room. In a normal sized room, what we hear below roughly 250 Hz is heavily influenced by reflections from the walls, ceiling & floor. That sound comes directly from the sub itself, and from a combination of reflected sound from those surfaces. In some locations of listener & sub, there will be reflections of sound that add together with that directly from the sub. And at other locations there will be reflections that subtract from the sound coming directly from the sub. The bass sound in those locations will be lacking, or even dead.

When lovingthehd said "room modes", that's what he's talking about. All subs will suffer from uneven sound, somewhere in that room, due to room modes. It all depends where the sub is and where the listener is.

If you have two subs – and if you put them in different locations in a room – you can smooth out the sound in more places in the listening room. Usually, that's enough to do the trick. Some people have rooms (they argue) that need more than two subs. We may scratch our heads a bit, but we tend not to argue with them.

Beyond 3 or 4 subs, more is not better. If you have 10 subs, the question becomes where do you put any furniture? Will you sit on one of those subs?

 

[TLS Guy]

I was wondering which would sound better. A single 15" subwoofer pushed with 1000 watts, or ten 15" subwoofers with 100 watts each?

The trouble is you have asked a question in a way that can not be answered. All 15" subs are not equal. Although the 100 watts subs are more likely than not, to be uniformly dreadful. The design of the subs is crucial like ported or sealed. The F3 of the subs is crucial. The efficiency of the subs is crucial, as it determines max spl. at the max rated power.

The larger sub is more likely to have higher efficiency if ported and actually have more output than the 100 watts subs. But it all depends on those factors. But taking a guess on the likely probabilities, the 1000 watt sub is likely to best the 100 watts subs. Lastly if you buy 100 watt subs, the available commercial offerings in that range are pretty dreadful. If you have low quality subs, then you just keep adding insult to injury. So likely the higher priced sub will be the better bet than 10 pieces junk.

So if those 10 subs are of lower quality that the single, then the single will win hands down.

 

[j_garcia]

There are too many factors that don't come up in the original question, TLS hit on many of them and I was going to say something similar. I took the assumption you designed these yourself, but of course a 100W sub, even a whole lot of them, will only give you output. That output might not sound great though, so you will just get more of not such a good thing. If quality is what you are after, then going for good drivers, proper enclosure and an amp designed for that build is the path to better sound.

500W x2 ch vs 1000w x1 to the same sub would result in the same thing.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I was wondering which would sound better. A single 15" subwoofer pushed with 1000 watts, or ten 15" subwoofers with 100 watts each?

Of course, 10 x 15” subs will sound better, assuming all the subs are the same.

 

[shadyJ]

All things being equal, the more volumetric area you can devote to subwoofage, the better and more efficiently it will perform, especially in deep bass (up to a point). This is assuming drivers, amplification, and design remain at the same level.

 

[Danzilla31]

I was wondering which would taste better. A single Quarter Pounder with twenty pieces of Cheese, or ten Quarter Pounders with two pieces of Cheese each ?

That's easy ten quarter pounders. ...
There's a reason I need to go on a diet

 

[lovinthehd]

That's easy ten quarter pounders. ...
There's a reason I need to go on a diet

Best taste results from avoiding Mcdonalds crappy "hamburgers" altogether, tho

 

[Danzilla31]

I was wondering which would sound better. A single 15" subwoofer pushed with 1000 watts, or ten 15" subwoofers with 100 watts each?

It's an interesting question because you see the bassheads on AVS in the DIY forums building 12 12 inch JBL subs in an enclosure and going for that low extension bass.

But like @lovinthehd said they aren't just buying crappy drivers even if they are inexpensive. Also they are modeling the room out with computer modeling programs they are modeling the drivers with all the required specs and building a proper enclosure.

Also they usually have modeled the room and figured out the best place for the enclosure to be placed. And they usually build it into the room so it cannot be seen. As someone mentioned 10 sub boxes in a room could get a bit cluttered. A lot of times they have them built nearfield and have them tuned with REW and a mini DSP to integrate with the speakers and one or 2 bigger subs they have either placed out in the room or built into the room. The reason they still have the other subs is what a lot of guys in the thread have pointed out to smooth out the response all over the room.

It's a lot of work but if done correctly I bet it sounds awesome and is a lot of fun