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Bass reinforcement for very large room

My main system resides in the great room of our open-concept house - essentially a 30x30 open area (entryway, family room, dining room, kitchen) with 15' ceilings.

My second system resides in the 11x15 master bedroom.

Recently I have become especially aware at how much better the much more modest system in the BR sounds - it is weighty and more authoritative. Why? Because no matter what sort of main speakers I use in the large room, it seems they cannot produce enough space for that very large space. In contrast, the BR speakers, with smaller drivers and lesser bass extension, pressurize the room and fill it with sound so easily.

The speakers (now) are Hyperion 938s. They are a quite-capable full-range speaker, solid to the low 30s or so. (The 'lack of weight' that plagues the great room is something that surely extents all the way up to the upper-bass, probably 125-150 Hz, so the speakers' extension is really not too vital. IOW, if they were flat to 20 Hz it wouldn't be much different.)

I am thinking subs are the only/best way to cure this. I could use some kind of EQ - but that would undoubtedly result in great driver excursion and an extreme load on my (modestly-powered) amplifiers. I think I need a lot more driver *area*. In other words, in this case there's no replacement for displacement. (And, by the way, I am no 'bass fiend'.)

I've had subs before. I don't like them because it seems they just never integrate *perfectly*. Especially if they must be relied on all the way up to 100 Hz or higher (which is something I've never even tried).

I don't really have any questions per se and am really just ruminating out loud, but if anyone has any thoughts to share, be my guest. (Moving might be my best bet.)
paulfolbrecht
apachef1
164 posts
 
Sounds like your speakers need more power A room that size will need 350-1000 watts/ch depending on the speakers sensitivity. A quality sub for two channel audio would help but no HT crap. Rel studio would come to mind
drew_eckhardt
394 posts
 
>My main system resides in the great room of our open-concept house - essentially a 30x30 open area (entryway, family room, dining room, kitchen) with 15' ceilings.

Modal issues dominate the bass region for nearly all systems and with identical length+width which are an even multiple of height yours are going to be worse than most.

I doubt you'll be able to solve your bass problems without multiple sub-woofers (where placement will fill in some of the nulls and average out the peaks) and/or bass traps (which will reduce the size of peaks and nulls).

The Earl Geddes/Duke LeJune multi-sub reference given by Jdombrow is a fine starting point.
rwbadley's avatar
rwbadley
105 posts
 
I agree with Drew about the multi sub solution. Integration with the mains can be achieved in this large room and seems easier when there are several subs working at lower capacity. I fought this issue in a room that has large size (15x30 with hall and another room off the sides making for something like a 25x35)When just one sub it had to work too hard and was difficult to integrate, never filling the room. Two was better, and then I stumbled into a deal on a third sub, and that took it to another level. Good luck
audiokinesis
1,872 posts
 
While obviously I'm on record as a proponent of multisubs, small rooms are more prone to modal problems than large rooms and so in general multisubs offer more of a qualitative improvement in small rooms than in large ones, counter-intuitive as that may seem.

I haven't run into a situation quite like what Paul describes, but I don't doubt him in the slightest. It is quite possible that a multisub system would work well. I'd suggest setting up at least two subs near the main speakers and crossed over high enough to fill in the weak upper bass energy. If any additional subs are placed well away from the main speakers, they should be rolled off low enough and steep enough that they don't betray their presence by letting lower midrange energy through.

Another possible solution in this case is to use a dedicated midbass sub to fill in the upper bass region. Hsu Research makes such a product. Also, take a look at the new line of subs coming out from GedLee (Earl Geddes' company). I think they include at least one model that's meant to be crossed over fairly high.

Duke
dealer/manufacturer
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,490 posts
 
Paul your pissin in the wind get the right loudspeaker for your space go big and horn its the right choice for such a space anything else and you will be buying again in a few short months. In my large room 25x35 open to much of the house 12ft h. I use a giant bass horn with 3 way front horn monitors. I have no issues with loading such a space. After all this is what a horn system does best why you dont see direct radiators used much in large venues. Have a great holiday and happy listening.
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