Is Bass Non-Directional In A Two-Channel Rig?

Dual stereo L/R time aligned subs matched up with the mains is the way to fly. Even if you cross over the subs at 40hz the actual cabinet enclosure acts as a giant passive radiator creating at least 4th order harmonics that need to be blended in to the mains. It is very easy to hear the placement of one and near impossible to hear the two as described. Each woofer will greatly benefit in speed and transparency if the cabinet is direct coupled { use brass] to the mass of the floor. Direct coupling {use brass] the woofer cabinet to the floor will limit the upper harmonics into the midbass and beyond resulting in much more clear mids in the main speaker pair. Tom

You can hear where the bass originates even below 40 hz. Again the box/enclosure is a giant passive upward frequency generator. A 40 hz crossover point will not stop the box from being pressurized above that selected frequency. You will increase the sound stage image size by roughly thirty percent with the proper implementation of time aligned stereo subs. Ground the subs to the floor
Tom

Kal

A room an enclosure and free air are all passive radiators so they all must be incompetent. Tom

And their are those who look beyond what has been published yesterday. The most important word you posted is 'hear' A box has boundaries and so does a room. When pressurized they generate upward harmonics even from applied electrical slopes of 24db. I have used eight different pairs of stereo subs over the the last twenty nine years in four different homes. I would never again consider using a single sub in my music room. Tom.

Timlub

Back in the day when I first began to use stereo subs I also used Marcof inner connects the ones that were black. I also had the latter blue ones but the black ones sounded as if they had less phase shift so I sold those off the blues and stayed with the blacks. The battery powered pre-preamp was also excellent and worked well with my Accuphase AC2 and the Denon 103d and 103c.I also stopped by your location in the St.Louis area.
Thanks for those products. Tom

Several first time visitors when hearing the system with their eyes closed were asked to point in both directions where the sound stage ended..it was a foot or two beyond the main stereo pair. When asked to do the same with the same recording the same volume only this time with the subs on.. they pointed with both hands in a plane that was parallel with the speakers,extending from wall to wall 21 ft. This physical description came from one person at a time having two eyes and two ears and two arms. There is also an increase in stage height as well as an increase in image stability between the stereo pair with the subs engaged. Tom

Rather than stuck in a box I will accept "off the rails" as a compliment. Thanks Tom

Mceljo

No I have not done a single behind the chair sub but I may add a third off to the left side of my room some 14 feet back from my listening chair. I am sure there is a void this 3rd may fill that hole where ever it is.

Soundstage presentation is one of the most important sonic attributes to me. The wave launch alignment pairing of subs and the mains is crucial to make all this happen visually. The subs I currently engage, in the same way as the past three pairs have less bass weight but better mid range. How can a woofer have better mid range especially when crossed over so low..better box design [the box is a passive radiator] and better coupling [brass] extraction of resonant energy to the greater mass of the floor. Tom

An audible and visual floor to ceiling wall to wall sonic presentation. No holds barred and no apprehension of scale or contrast. The 3rd sub may add some weight but I cannot allow it to alter the time and phase coherency I currently have. I would have to blend a mono signal into this 3rd sub at a reduced level from the front pair so as not to disrupt the front stage visually. Tom

No I have never tried that. It would be mixed mono and not stereo and there would't be the close chance of aligning the voice coil of the mains and the subs. I have used a single sub of the same pair while I was doing a mod on its mate. The single playing sub was not moved and I could hear where it was placed even in mixed mono. I think at that time it was the Paradigm Servo 15 pair. They always have flanked the mains. Tom

I have had a number of people be part of this demonstration some listeners with a great deal of experience others who think an I-Pod is highest of fidelity. None however with just a single sub. Tom

I have modded pairs of subs before...one at a time. I always had one to listen to and ran it in mono. I left the sub that played in the the same position as when it was part of the stereo pair. I also have a Velodyne smps digital eq which is mono only and eq'd and ran my current stereo pair of subs from this digital box. I had more bass but a worse sound stage and bass tone that was to me less life like and enjoyable. I removed this box from the system. Tom