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Two Subs Vs. One

Trying to augment the sound from a pair of Totem Hawks in a large room (rest of system is an Olive Musica server, Eastern Electric Minimax Pre, Classe CAP-150 Amp). I am doing some in-home auditions of affordable single subs (mostly REL) and really like what they do for the sound. So far, I am leaning toward two smaller subs, one behind each speaker (ie. REL Q108E's - I like the sound better in that position and it looks better - wife factor) versus one larger one in the corner (ie. REL R-205). Can't find two demo units of the same sub to audition the two-sub option and was wondering if anyone had experience with this comparison.
itball
drubin
3,240 posts
 
Where the bass sounds strongest or best is where you should move the sub to
And that's usually going to be in a corner. Other factors in the whole one vs. two subs question are (1) where the crossover is set, (2) if your mains are runing full-range or are high passed, and (2) the distance from the sub(s) to the mains. These factors affect a listener's ability to localize the bass.
flg2001's avatar
flg2001
543 posts
 
If your room is large, go fo two subs - I have tried one and two subs and found a lot of differences, particulary on how two subs clean the midrange better than on trying to cope with both channel information.

I might be a different animal, but the radiation pattern is localizable from my listening position (my room is not huge as you mentioned is yours) thou.

Good Luck

Fernando
theaudiotweak
1,793 posts
 
The bass cabinet itself radiates energy and harmonics above its determined crossover point. This is one reason you can audibly determine the location of your sub and one big reason it effects the blend into the mains as well as the tone quality and staging aspects of the mains. Two sub set up properly sound better than one, again because they will blend better and increase the stage size and focus. Tom
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Theaudiotweak...That's a good point about the caninet vibrating at higher frequency. However, it doesn't apply in my case because my custom subwoofer systems are embedded in a wall (and built like a brick SH).
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