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Subwoofer recommendation and wisdom

So I have a relatively difficult room 19' x 19' x 9'. I have made a bunch of sound absorbing panels which made a massive improvement. I have worked on speaker placement and landed on the 5/8 ratio......5x from the back wall, 8x from the side walls. I use Harbeth 30.1 speakers on appropriate stands, driven by a Luxman L505 xII integrated. I am very pleased with the sound but sometimes wish I had a bit more foundation on the bottom end. I will listen mostly to classic rock and jazz. I would like to consider adding a sub, but not sure where to start. I don't want sledgehammer bass, I just want a nice, blended bottom end on my music. I think that is one of the only improvements I can reasonably and cost effectively make. Looking for recommendations on a sealed sub that would have a good chance of integrating well in my room.

My preference would be for a single sub solution. Thanks
 

stuartbmw3
mswale
381 posts
 

Was in this situation, added one sub. It was great, but still lacking. Added another cheap sub and it was much better, but still lacking. 

Then purchased 2 new modern subs with DSP, this was a total game changer, never knew bass could be this powerful, full, have so much texture. 

Weirdly, it will make your main speakers sound better, not sure if it's due to turning down the bass on the mains, the crossover or what. After dialing in the sub, sound stage was deeper, everything was cleaner, fuller, more detail. My main amp is working far less, and I'm getting far more out of my system.

One thing of note, usually if you are getting 2 subs, you can go down a size/level and still get more out of 2 smaller subs over 1 bigger. Where you would spend $1500 on one sub, 2 $700 subs will give you more bass. Currently using 2 10in subs, gain is set at 26 out of 100, no tone controls or loudness being used. At half volume on my system, pictures can fall off the wall. It very much pressurizes the room.

ericrhodes1's avatar
ericrhodes1
256 posts
 

I'm your Huckleberry. Get a size/budget appropriate Rel. Put it in your seating position, and do the sub-crawl. 

bartsw's avatar
bartsw
232 posts
 

@mswale 

One thing of note, usually if you are getting 2 subs, you can go down a size/level and still get more out of 2 smaller subs over 1 bigger. Where you would spend $1500 on one sub, 2 $700 subs will give you more bass.

Yup. I'm not sure about 'more' but wider coverage with more consistent SPL vs 1 bigger sub having a hot spot in the center and cool zones near the edge and varying SPL in between. Overall better quality though not necessarily higher max SPL. Also you have less risk of room modes from too much bass in a particular area (not room).

 

I don't agree with any sub crawl suggestions. It's hard to localize bass below 40Hz. A mic does a better job.

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tkelleyalaska
10 posts
 

Don’t go dual T5x , go with a used T9x , then get a second , there are lots used from anywhere including TMR in fact I just traded 2 T9x into them in brand new mint condition and they have some others , the dual T9x can be used if you upgrade or go to larger home , where the T5x is stuck and you will just lose money if you ever upgrade 👊🏾  

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