New media room, need subwoofer advice.

[TLS Guy]

It isn't the dipole design, its the lobing that occurs on the vertical plane. All of that projected energy is interacting with itself, and it will produce a very complex comb-filtering pattern. The thing is, comb-filtering can be difficult to hear, so while the response might look like a mess, it may not sound like one. Indeed, I have heard maggies and other planars and electrostats that have this quality yet they always sounded fine.

Neither free-air or Klippel measuring systems would be able to disentable this problem. It's possible a far-field, multi-mic measurement might help though.

Exactly, and that is why Peter Walker developed those delay lines etched into the membrane of the Quad ESL 63.

They are so phase coherent they will neutralize a square wave in free air, with one speaker out of phase. Peter demonstrated that to me personally on a trip to Huntingdon. I can assure anyone this feat is NOT myth.

The Maggies do so sound fine over a restricted listening area. I regard them as an 'antisocial' speakers as there is really only one good listening position. Personally I find them somewhat akin to headphone listening.

I think you really do need to have good sound over all seats, otherwise they are antisocial speakers in my view. I personally believe that speakers with good sound over a wide area sound better and more natural anyway.

Lastly this is another thread about needing two systems for two and multichannel. That really is totally untrue and actually in audiophool territory. We keep getting these posts and they are very much akin to "funny wire" posts. But any decent multi channel AV system should be able to perform and compete with any stand alone two channel system. These systems make for complicated architecture and wiring more likely than not to cause error and overall reduction in SQ.

I think the AV systems have a big market for music and the visual arts. I have not listened to opera without a picture for years. I don't think there is any more demanding program for any audio or AV system than grand opera. For me it is just wonderful to be able to experience fine opera performances in AV with superb picture and sound.

 

[isolar8001]

Regardless, consider yourself blocked.

Might want to reconsider that...TLS Guy is one of the most knowledgeable speaker experts on this or any other forum.
He just has little very little tolerance when someone is going astray.

 

[Dave Raue]

I have a friend with the original 3.7 Maggies and
1. it remains one of the most realistic sounding systems that I have heard. The op is right, though, in that....
2. it had a rather small sweet spot and.....
3. my friend spent a lot of time painstakingly tweaking the system until he got it just right. More effort than most would be willing to exert.

As to the original question, for movie viewing you ideally want a system that goes down to 20Hz or better. There are few full range speakers that will perform as well as a subwoofer for low frequency effects. If the Velodyne has been reconed it must be old by now. I could not find a manual for the UHD12 but the ULD12 has a fixed crossover of 85Hz. If your sub does not have variable crossover and phase controls I would think that it's time to upgrade. The SVS Pro models have a mobile app and bluetooth so that you can adjust them from the seating position. True integration would be best with a measurement mic and REW software though.

1. Fully agree, especially for the price.
2. Yes. I suspect that this is a major factor in their rarity in AV systems. They shine in antisocial, single seat 2ch systems.
3. This isn't really as bad it's made out to be after you come to terms with their needs. Many folks either can't or won't. And WAF is usually low to begin with. This only gets worse when she learns that they need to be pulled 4' out from the front wall!

As for the Velodyne, yeah, nothing about the crossover is adjustable as far as I can recall. That's reason enough to upgrade. In the meantime, calibration mike is on the way. The room ought to be carpeted by the time it gets here.

 

[Dave Raue]

Might want to reconsider that...TLS Guy is one of the most knowledgeable speaker experts on this or any other forum.
He just has little very little tolerance when someone is going astray.

I'll take my chances. I have very little tolerance for somebody that responds with snark or ignores info in the OP. Life's too short for that stuff.