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Subwoofer

A couple of days ago I was talking to a dealer and he said that all speakers benefit from adding a subwoofer. What's are your thoughts? 
ricred1
bo1972's avatar
bo1972
2,789 posts
 
In the past I said: a subwoofer for stereo use is useless. But....faster subwoofers, using them till 120hz and my own developed Stealth low frequency made me think totally different about subwoofers for stereo use.

But.....still most subwoofers own a slow response. This means still most subwoofers are useless. Even in 2016 there are many subwoofers who create more difficulties than advantages.

About 80% of my clients buy speakers with a subwoofer. Because I have proven that I can create a higher endresult with a subwoofer compared to a situation without a subwoofer.


sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
"still most subwoofers own a slow response." So is there a commonly published measurement or some design criteria that separate the winners from losers in your opinion? Besides Duke's innovative approach mentioned above, was there a "game-changer" in subwoofer design that sets more recent apart from older ones?

When you say "your clients" you imply industry affiliation. You should disclose that in signature of your posts. 
Cheers,

Spencer
ricred1 OP
1,979 posts
 
I guess it’s fair to say, "all speakers benefit from using a good subwoofer." So, in general, will good speakers with dual subs sound better than very good speakers without subs?
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
So while adding a single subwoofer will offer the benefit of improved bass extension, adding multiple smaller subs and spreading them around intelligently will additionally result in smoother bass throughout the room.
Duke, does your opinion change if I am only interested in good bass at a single location in the room?  In my case, I have a dedicated, albeit small listening room where I listen from a fixed location.  
audiokinesis
2,715 posts
 

"Duke, does your opinion change if I am only interested in good bass at a single location in the room?"

If you're going to be equalizing for that single location, I can only think of one theoretical disadvantage of using just one sub:  If you have a significant dip at that location, you could conceivably overtax your sub trying to fill it in with EQ.  That being said, dips are subjectively much more benign than peaks. 

I have been told by someone who tried it both ways that the distributed multisub system sounded more natural in the sweet spot than a single equalized ubersub, but that could have been due to other factors.  And my sample size (in this case, one) is too small to draw any conclusions from. 

Duke


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