Sub woofers with single or dual subs in the cabinets

[engtaz]

Sub woofers with single or dual subs in the cabinets, what are the pluses and minuses? Won't the rear facing sub in a dual sub cabinet, cause bass to be more pronounced to whatever is behind that wall? IE bedroom, kitchen, neighbor .......

 

[bandphan]

Well if the drivers are opposed the design imho better, but as for placement and effect, its not going to matter much.

 

[GranteedEV]

So many different subwoofer designs all have their advantages and disadvantages. Usually more drivers will give you more output but sometimes you gotta wonder if there's any advantage to say, 2x 10" woofers vs 1x 12" woofer etc.

I'm of the opinion that a single big (15", 18" or 21") driver per cabinet is plenty for a large room. If you need more output, another sub is probably better than just adding another driver. at the frequencies subs operate at, a good 21" driver can still handle like 90hz very well.

There's also passive radiator designs which are a good compromise... they act kind of like a ported box (steeper rolloff though) but look like you've got multiple drivers. If you've got a 12" driver, a 15" PR on the other side of the box might be a nice choice.

...Then again, who doesn't want to win a Paradigm Sub 2 LOL

 

[bandphan]

I was using two subs with three 10' drivers each and found the subs more friendly as far room placement even with just one sub. Room measurements are important as to placement of a single sub as opposed to 2 or more. The number or drivers or ports or PRs isn't as important as the actual placement and eq.