joscow,
Since your room at 24 x 17 feet is fairly large, I believe 2 good $500 subs will definitely provide much better bass performance than a single $1,000 sub. 2 will not only provide a higher bass volume and impact capacity, it will also provide more accurate and detailed bass that will sound much smoother and natural which will work very well for all music types.
By far the best sub system solution I'm aware of, however, is the 4-sub distributed bass array (dba) system. This is often described as a 'swarm' system that was recommended by bstatmeister and millercarbon earlier. It's a concept based on scientific research conducted by acoustics experts Dr. Earl Geddes and Dr. Floyd O'Toole and advocated by the Research Acoustician at Harman International, Todd Welti, and the owner of Audio Kinesis, Duke Lejeune.
These dba systems are available from Audio Kinesis as complete $2,500 kits (Four 1x1x2 ft subs and a 1,000 watt sub amp/eq) called the Swarm and Debra. But custom dba systems can be created using virtually any 4 subs desired.
The main benefits of a 4-sub dba system are that it provides excellent bass response in virtually any room and integrates seamlessly with virtually any pair of main speakers, even fast speakers like planer-magnetic and electrostatic panels.
I use the Audio Kinesis Debra 4-sub dba system combined with a pair of large planar-magnetic panel main speakers, which only have accurate and detailed deep bass down to 36 Hz, in my system. This dba system provides tight, smooth,accurate, detailed, dynamic and powerful bass response in my 23 x 16 ft room that integrates seamlessly with my smooth, accurate and detailed main speakers. I consider the bass response of the AK dba system as state of the art and sincerely can't think of any aspects needing improvement, the concept really works that well.
So, my suggestion is to use at least 2, perhaps a pair of SVS SB1000 subs for $950/pr, for very good bass response or use 4, either 4 SVS SB1000 subs for $1,900 or an Audio Kinesis Swarm or Debra complete system for $2,500, for excellent bass response. Here's an Absolute Sound review of the AK Swarm dba system that contains a very good description of the performance to expect:
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audiokinesis-swarm-subwoofer-system/
Tim
Since your room at 24 x 17 feet is fairly large, I believe 2 good $500 subs will definitely provide much better bass performance than a single $1,000 sub. 2 will not only provide a higher bass volume and impact capacity, it will also provide more accurate and detailed bass that will sound much smoother and natural which will work very well for all music types.
By far the best sub system solution I'm aware of, however, is the 4-sub distributed bass array (dba) system. This is often described as a 'swarm' system that was recommended by bstatmeister and millercarbon earlier. It's a concept based on scientific research conducted by acoustics experts Dr. Earl Geddes and Dr. Floyd O'Toole and advocated by the Research Acoustician at Harman International, Todd Welti, and the owner of Audio Kinesis, Duke Lejeune.
These dba systems are available from Audio Kinesis as complete $2,500 kits (Four 1x1x2 ft subs and a 1,000 watt sub amp/eq) called the Swarm and Debra. But custom dba systems can be created using virtually any 4 subs desired.
The main benefits of a 4-sub dba system are that it provides excellent bass response in virtually any room and integrates seamlessly with virtually any pair of main speakers, even fast speakers like planer-magnetic and electrostatic panels.
I use the Audio Kinesis Debra 4-sub dba system combined with a pair of large planar-magnetic panel main speakers, which only have accurate and detailed deep bass down to 36 Hz, in my system. This dba system provides tight, smooth,accurate, detailed, dynamic and powerful bass response in my 23 x 16 ft room that integrates seamlessly with my smooth, accurate and detailed main speakers. I consider the bass response of the AK dba system as state of the art and sincerely can't think of any aspects needing improvement, the concept really works that well.
So, my suggestion is to use at least 2, perhaps a pair of SVS SB1000 subs for $950/pr, for very good bass response or use 4, either 4 SVS SB1000 subs for $1,900 or an Audio Kinesis Swarm or Debra complete system for $2,500, for excellent bass response. Here's an Absolute Sound review of the AK Swarm dba system that contains a very good description of the performance to expect:
http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/audiokinesis-swarm-subwoofer-system/
Tim