1 or 2 subs?

 

Bronze Member
Username: Leonski

Post Number: 68
Registered: Jan-07
Given a max dollar amount, is there an advantage to the purchase of 2 lessers subs as opposed to a single, bigger/better unit?
Example:: a pair of HSU STF-2's @700$ vs a single
VTF-3 mk3 for the same money.
The single unit has lower extension, but the pair, given space will have no dead spots or peaky response caused by standing waves. Room gain may even make the response more even than the specs would indicate:?
Some posts report real nightmare placement issues which I'd like to avoid if possible:
 

Bronze Member
Username: Leonski

Post Number: 69
Registered: Jan-07
http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/multsubs.pdf

Above is link to Harmon Kardon White Papers.
Many experiments / simulations which will be of interest to Subwoofer fans.

This will push me towards double subs, and based on my mix of HT/Music (80/20) I won't worry about ultimate musicality until I win the lottery!
 

Gold Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 6708
Registered: Dec-04
leo, cancelling waves are even harder to tame than standing waves.
The multi-sub layout is ideal, if the room will handle the waves.
Put 2 subs in a square room and see what happens.
 

Platinum Member
Username: Jan_b_vigne

Dallas, TX

Post Number: 10187
Registered: May-04
.



So, these two Jewish subs walk into a bar ...
 

Bronze Member
Username: Leonski

Post Number: 73
Registered: Jan-07
Square rooms are a known evil. A cubic room, say 20x20 with a 20ft ceiling would be even worse.
Aren't canceling waves known as 'suckout', a frequency response void caused by a 'peak' (hi pressuer) meeting a 'valley', (lo pressure)?? The result is cancelation and no sound?
Standing waves are the wavelength being the same as some room dimension. The HK white paper leads me to believe that you can mitagate some single source effects by doubling up on Subs. There conclusion also stated that 4 subs didn't help much and actually had a downside.........not to mention costing an arm and a leg.
 

Gold Member
Username: Nuck

Post Number: 6732
Registered: Dec-04
Correct terminology, leo.
Now take 2 sub frequencies hitting you a few ms off-time.
This is mud.
 

Bronze Member
Username: Leonski

Post Number: 74
Registered: Jan-07
Nuck, let me think about this a while. I am on my work cycle and want to devote some time to this, since I am thinking double subs.......

I KNOW you are correct for frequencies above maybe 200hz....(almost wrote cps!)but I have to think about low frequency stuff........after all, even a 20ft long room is only 1 wavelength of about 55hz.
Some stuff I know to be true>
1. diffucult/impossible to localize LF.
2. RT60 of a room drops w/frequency
3. my listening area is MASSIVELY irregular, having at least 8 walls, some at 45's to the rest.
4. Carver Sonic Hologram (never heard one, have you?) was an effort to fix this 'smear'
5. Polk RTS (been a while) took a hardware approach to this same problem.....
6. How can you tell a politician is lying? Moving lips.

So let me mull this over.
I have NO idea what Jan's comment meant. BUT if you want to swap Priest/Minister/Rabbi jokes offline, let me know. I used to collect them!

OH! 10ms is about 10 or 11 feet at the speed of sound......QUESTIONS:: How 'fast' is the human ear? Can I distinguish 2 sounds 10ms apart? Could Jan, who apparently has MUCH better ears than I? At what point would smear turn into 2 sounds seperated by a gap?


Happy Easter................to all
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