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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
paulfolbrecht OP
586 posts
 
Tvad & I know one another a bit and I'm pretty confident he saw my tongue-in-cheek suggestion that he buy me the horns for what it was.

The fact is that your advice didn't speak to the issue at all and I don't think you cared for that being pointed out, however gently.

I stated in the OP that I was simply ruminating on the issue and not seeking any & all advice in the world including changing the entire system.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
3,575 posts
 
Paul - 938s, in spite of quite large bass cabinet, are rated only 35Hz. It could be lower but I think they tuned port to get less distortions and not the extension. Sub in that case will serve dual purpose. Sub that equalizes itself and has phase adjustment should be able to reinforce existing bass and add extension. There is an article/study on the web about positioning 2 subs in home theater environment - if you don't have it I might be able to find it.
paulfolbrecht OP
586 posts
 
Kijanki, you are correct; it is not like they are flat to 20 Hz. But even if they were I think they would sound a bit thin here.

One reason I would not change speakers to something that would do that is that the SE tube amps that I tend to favor will never control large woofers going down to 20 Hz.

(Another is that I think the speakers that it would take to really do what I want here would weigh 200+ lb and be extremely expensive. And most would still not properly do it.)

So, those are the reasons that external bass augmentation is the best solution.

Even most speakers that do go down to 20 Hz would not solve the real problem, which is just that there is essentially no room reinforcement to speak of, and extra output in the 20-80 hz region (or so) is what's necessary.
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Ever considered Altec Model 19?
donjr
1,311 posts
 
It sounds to me as though you should quit listening to music and finish up your home theatre with some subwoofers. Your house has the acoustics of a mens bathroom at Disney World. What's your room treated with? It sounds like you may live in California with no furniture? I can tell you have wall to wall carpeting or a ton of area rugs on organic rolled oat floors.
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