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
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.
Paul. I apologize for my snide remarks I posted last night. A little too much Holdiay cheer for me I guess. Good luck in remedying the problem.
Don,

Were you the one who told off Aunt Stacy at the party, too? Her passive-aggressiveness can be trying, yes, but damn.

Seriously, don't sweat it, but thanks. It's best to keep it light here.

And guess what? Today, the system sounds wonderful out in the big room. Sometimes that sense of pressurization is really nice, or necessary, and sometimes it just isn't. For whatever reasons (probably mostly psychological).

[Que Charlie Brown Christmas theme.]