Two vs four subwoofers for music playback

I went from no subs to a Distributed Bass Array and I will never, ever go back.

My system was set up professionally. Meaning, I paid someone who knows what they're doing and he used acoustical software to dial everything in. There was no guessing where to place the subs or how to dial each one in.

Of course, you can do it yourself. I'm sure many have and there are instructions for doing so. So I'm not advocating you pay someone to do it. I just know my limitations and what I wanted.

As for the reasons four is better than two (and two better than one) there are different, technical resources you can look at. Check out jamesromeyn.com and you'll find the theory behind it.

You're half-way there. Like I said, two is definitely better (IMO) than none, so you may be happy right there. But, if you go further so will your entire system and musical experience. 

In short, I am 100% behind the benefit and value of a DBA. That's a big "yes" it's worth the expense and effort of the "extra subs".

I went from two subs to three. I considered four, but in my case, in a dedicated room, I have full freedom of placement and also have measurement equipment to get them where overall frequency response (FR) is smoothest. So I thought I’d try three first, since we’re getting old and trying not to get a ton more STUFF. I like the result. I still might go to four someday.

The advantages of three over two are easy to hear and match what people say. First, smoother FR at the main listening position. Second, a greater sense of envelopment. Third, far smoother FR across space in the room. I can walk around the room while bass-heavy music is playing and not go from areas of little bass to areas of too much bass. The variation is much, much less.

Try to get all four subs the same. If not identical, than at least don’t mix ported and sealed subs.

I also highly recommend measuring (use REW or an OmniMic [simpler!]). You can then fine-tune location and phase relationships to get smoothest bass. It’s not an absolute necessity, but I for one like to have the objective measurement in hand as well as listening impressions, especially in the bass.

When I added three more subwoofers it absolutly negated my rooms nulls and modes. Since the subwoofers have extensive multi band multi parameter processing the ability to better match the main speakers full range presentation in the crossover region was not subtle.

I've since removed two of the subs which resulted in a mode in an unused corner of the room. With every rooms uniqueness this may not be as desirable.

Mike's is good advise. The ability to see how your room is handling the low frequency is very useful. Along with repositioning and some form of processing you may find a level of satisfaction before committing to more subs. Good luck with it.

None, I don't need one in my system. My speakers do bass.