Two or More Subwoofers?


would you prefer to have two REL G-2 subwoofers for you Maggies (or other speakers), or have four R-328's or four R-528's assuming that you would have these set-up in a larger dedicated listening room?
stickman451

Showing 2 responses by lewinskih01

I say it depends. How large is your room? Do you listen alone or with other people, and if so how far appart are they? Or do you move around while you listen?

I believe multiple subs have the advantage of potentially higher SPL (particularly valuable in large rooms), and of smoothing the bass response across various points in the room (see Earl Geddes multiple sub approach).

I run a pair of stereo subs and I'm happy with them. I might consider adding more down the road, but have no burning need now. Bigger fish to catch elsewhere.

I did try the Geddes approach and worked well for me, but stereo subs works better for me now. I listen mostly alone and stay sitting in one place while doing so. If going down the Geddes route, you don't need all subs to be the same. Moreover, your 3rd and 4th sub could easily be smaller and you would loose nothing.
Sounds like you will listen from a fixed position, and I'll assume you mostly listen alone. Hence the Geddes approach probably has rather low value to you.

Then it's a matter of SPL and impact. I would wait until you are in your new room, play around with layout enough, then decide if you need more subwoofer power.

BTW, it might be worth looking into DSP alternatives for the best subwoofer integration and room correction. Something as simple (albeit limited) as the DSSpeaker products (Antimode and such), going all the way to more complex solutions. My only source these days is an optimized computer, so I'm biased towards software solutions, but other options are available.

In my book, with my bias, my 2 cents:
1) get into your new room, optimize layout
2) work on room treatments
3) time-align subwwofer to 20.7 and do room correction maybe only to the subwoofers
4) maybe you need more subwoofer power

cheers