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Subwoofers- Abandon All Hope Ye Who Enter Here...

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James Edward:
Hello all-
I’ve come to the realization that I want more bass. I’m using open baffle speakers, and other than deep bass, I love the sound.
My intuition and reading tell me that sealed subs are better for music only systems; I have a separate home theater system and know that some extra boom, overhang, and higher Q numbers are more fun there.
I’ve pretty much settled on this sub for my music only system- https://hsuresearch.com/products/uls-15mk2.html
I’m less interested in sub recommendations than in your experiences integrating a sub into a music only system. I have an integrated amp with NO bass management, so I will be using the ‘REL’ way of connecting to the sub- just extra wires from the speaker terminals to the sub high level inputs. I will be running the speakers full range.
Due to my domestic situation, a second sub will not happen; I know that is more of an ideal, but as people say- ‘it is what it is’.
Any experiences appreciated.

James Edward:
I’m replying to my thread with a theoretical question that popped into my head last night. I’m using open baffle speakers, in which 50% of the bass radiates to the rear of the speaker. They are about 44” from the wall behind them. It is in that corner space I plan to place the sub.
Am I correct in thinking that the back wave of the speaker might cancel the output of the sub? I’m thinking that they would be out of phase with one another if placed as described above.
I will certainly be corresponding with Spatial and Hsu regarding this. I may need to rethink sub placement, and anyone that’s been to my place will know I’m going to need a shoehorn to do so.
Or maybe I’m just thinking too much. But it seems a valid concern.

BobM:
The most important thing to remember is that the upper crossover point on the sub needs to be "below" the start of the roll-off point of the speaker's woofer. Most people set that too high. Take a look at the typical graph below. This shows the individual speaker measurements and the total resulting frequency (red line) as they sum each other. You've probably seen this in Stereophile many times. I think it depicts what I said above rather well. You can set the sub crossover lower than you think, then adjust the volume of the sub until things start to gel and balance out. You will likely tweak the crossover and volume and sub phase over the next few days/weeks using different recordings until it all balances out to your ear. Of course, using a meter will help, but your ear is the final judge.



Next, putting a sub in the corner is what you may read in many articles about set up, because you have reinforcement from 3 surfaces ... the 2 walls and floor. That works fine for movies with dinosaur stomps but not as well for music. I found pulling the sub out into the room and placing it next to the speaker works best for music. It might have to be turned up louder there but it will sound like it integrates better in that position.

Third, I also believe in taking away all boundaries helps, even the floor. For instance, I have my down firing sub placed upside down with the feet pointing up. This raises the sub's speaker off the floor. You can do the same with front firing subs by placing them on some kind of support stand or sturdy cement block. Getting it up off the floor works best for me and my panel speakers. The sub sounds "faster" and integrates better.

Most of all, experiment. I heard in one instance someone say to place the sub where you normally sit, up on the chair, then get on your hands and knees and move around to likely placement positions and listen with your ears. If you hear boom then that's not the right place for the sub. Somewhere it will all click in. Then move the sub to that location and begin dialing it in. Ingenious idea and it could work for you because it identifies room nodes better than the usual trial and error.

It will take time to dial in so listen to plenty of music and have fun with it.

Good luck.

James Edward:
Thanks Bob, it’s all starting to come together. Your info on sub settings also plays into what someone on another forum said- as long as the sub and main speaker are outputting different frequencies, phase cancellation shouldn’t be an issue.
As far as corner placement goes, I’m going to have to hope that the many adjustments on the sub will mitigate the lack of ideal placement. My system is thoroughly domesticated in the living room, so placement options are limited. A fireplace in the middle of everything further diminishes my options. The good news is it sounds pretty good regardless.

James Edward:
The sub arrived today. I’m not doing any placement or control settings tonight, that’s what tomorrow is for.
Even so, my biggest concern turns out to be no concern at all. I was afraid of boomy bass- I couldn’t live with that. Right now I’ve got the Q setting at .5, which is midpoint, and there is zero overhang. I’m sure getting a sealed sub was the right move.
Thanks Bob and Tom for the setup guides. More to come...

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