Size Matter for Sub-woofer?

M

mcdbirdman

Audiophyte
I have a 20x28 room with a tile floor/area rug and windows all across the back wall. I know this is the worst setup for good sound but it's what I have to work with. Right now my setup is: Denon avr 3300, Klipsch RF-3,RC-3, SS-1, and KSW-12 sub-woofer. My sub is connected via LFE with lowpass selectable from 40-120 HZ. My question is this--Is my sub big enough for the room, is it hooked up correctly, what should I set the lowpass to?? Right now I am just not happy with the sound when playing music.(Bass just doesn't sound right) I am thinking of upgrading to a Pioneer elite 72 receiver and/or upsizing the sub. Anyone out there with some suggestions?? Thanks
 
jaxvon

jaxvon

Audioholic Ninja
I think that a bigger sub would be a good investment. But also, the internal crossover on your receiver should be set to 80Hz with your sub's crossover bypassed/turned all the way up. You have a fairly large room, so it's hard for a single subwoofer to really fill it up with bass waves. For the value minded, SVS and Hsu make some good subwoofers that can kick out the bass, even in large rooms like yours.
 
A

awesomebase

Audioholic
Treatment

Working in a room with reflective surfaces such as you point out is difficult and I certainly understand your frustration. The problem may not necessarily be with your sub so much as getting the most out of it. So, placement is key. You may be tempted to move the sub away from the walls in a setup where the room is large. Doing this only lessons the impact of your sub, so, keep it close to the walls; keeping it close to a corner is even better.
The RSW-12 is a great sub, so it should provide you with a great amount of impact and it is well-matched to your other speakers. What you may want to consider is getting another RSW-12 sub and put it in the opposite corner of the room. Dolby's web-site has some information on exactly how to do this, but there are plenty of web-sites that include optimal setups for .1, .2, and .4 setups (i.e. 1, 2, and 4 subs on a system).
Also, whatever you can do to dampen reflection will help your sound immensely. It will allow you to hear and feel a more precise image of your bass. Reflecting surfaces such as tile and glass can drag a sound out and muddle its image as well as its origin and direction. If you can put a good thick curtain over your windows and try to have some kind of furniture over the tile, that will at least help clear up some of your bass problems. Also, keep in mind that you should calibrate your sound with the volume of your sub between at about 1/3 of its max. Most people crank up their sub volume when tuning which only reduces the signal coming from the receiver. That, in turn, provides you little flexibility (i.e. you can only reduce the sub's impact rather than both increase it and reduce it).
If you decide to go with 4 subs, I would invest in a seat-belt! ;D
Happy sub-hunting!
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Size isn't as important as the actual capability of the sub itself. I've seen 10" subs that can hang with and often show up 12" models, and 8" subs that are truly surprising. Your room is relatively large so I would be looking for a pretty substantial sub.

(shouldn't that be awsomeBASS?)
 
A

awesomebase

Audioholic
On purpose

j_garcia said:
Size isn't as important as the actual capability of the sub itself. I've seen 10" subs that can hang with and often show up 12" models, and 8" subs that are truly surprising. Your room is relatively large so I would be looking for a pretty substantial sub.

(shouldn't that be awsomeBASS?)
In theory yes, it should be awesomebass, but the "base" part of it actually stands for my initials (first name, two middle names, and last name). :D
 
Sheep

Sheep

Audioholic Warlord
awesomebase said:
In theory yes, it should be awesomebass, but the "base" part of it actually stands for my initials (first name, two middle names, and last name). :D
Neato. :D


SheepStar
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
awesomebase said:
In theory yes, it should be awesomebass, but the "base" part of it actually stands for my initials (first name, two middle names, and last name). :D
OK, I'll let that one slide..;)
 
A

awesomebase

Audioholic
You should also know...

j_garcia said:
OK, I'll let that one slide..;)
I thought to let you know that I work as a technical writer so, normally a "mistake" of that kind would not make it past me! :D

Maybe I should change the last few letters to uppercase so that it reads "awesomeBASE". What do you think?
 
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