do 2 sub really make difference compared to just one?

Mr Glide

Hi,

I have Polk 7.1 HT setup which consists of PSW505 sub. I am considering to adding 2nd sub. My questions:

1. Is this a good idea for mid size room (18 x 13 )? I am not looking for more loudness or anything like that as I am not huge fan of boomy, bass loud music, however, I am wondering whether adding 2nd sub improves bass notes (tighter, cleaner sound) while playing movies,etc?

2. For folks who have 2 subs, could you share your experience in general as to what changes/improvements have you noted in watching/listening to Blu-Ray movies with HD audio (e.g. DTS HD MST/Dolby TrueHD) and also while listening to music?

Thanks.

leroyjr1

After owning duals I'll never go single again.

Hawkeye

One is the minimum, four is best! Sounds like overkill, but if you read the following link, you'll see the reasons why.

http://forum.blu-ray.com/subwoofers/

Gordon

Cmiller

leroyjr1 wrote: »

After owning duals I'll never go single again.

Agree!..Im running dual subs now,alot better than when i had 1

Erik Tracy

leroyjr1 wrote: »

After owning duals I'll never go single again.

d@mn you.....

B Run

i had dual 505's in a really big room and they sounded great, definitely worth it for the price.

Slyder01

i'm running 3 subs and will get another in the future. If your avr has a second sub out for the rear it does make a difference in HT. It's sounds much better when things come from the rear to the front with a rear sub, it brings that extra bass with it.. totally awesome! If you can afford it, get the second, you won't be dissappointed

slk55amg

I have dual subs, much better than just one.

B Run

The real question: is one high end sub better than 2 cheaper subs? Personally I went from dual Psw 505's to an SVS and it blows them away without a doubt. However mine is the 16-46 and I can't justify $1,000+ for a 2nd one (got mine used for dirt cheap). I miss having dual subs in the front, but this thing digs so low and hits so hard I wouldn't go back.

aboroth00

B Run wrote: »

The real question: is one high end sub better than 2 cheaper subs? Personally I went from dual Psw 505's to an SVS and it blows them away without a doubt. However mine is the 16-46 and I can't justify $1,000+ for a 2nd one (got mine used for dirt cheap). I miss having dual subs in the front, but this thing digs so low and hits so hard I wouldn't go back.

Yeap one good sub will blow away crappy dual subs any day. The only reason you'd want to get dual subs is more for room response than for output. Sure you'll get a tad more output, but dual subs will help alleviate dips and peaks.

I have ran singles, duals, triples, quadruple and there is a difference each time. However, if there is a weak link in your system especially with subs, it'll just degrade the SQ. More headroom is better but if one subs starts distorting for the other, then it's holding the whole system back. I'm currently only running duals but it's pretty great, as well as an EQ. I can go back to a single sub, and wouldn't mind too much, but it has to be one GOOD sub .

Face

Multiple subs will have smoother in room response. http://www.harman.com/EN-US/OurCompany/Technologyleadership/Documents/White%20Papers/multsubs.pdf

pearsall001

You bet your sweet bippy two subs perform better than one...it's not even close.

Slaine777

For those of you with two subs, where do you have them? Each side of the TV (for HT)? Opposing corners? Stacked?

DMara

Slaine777 wrote: »

For those of you with two subs, where do you have them? Each side of the TV (for HT)? Opposing corners? Stacked?

The best location for my dual subs in my living room is:

Pic#1:



Pic#2:


They are shaking my sofa, literally :biggrin:

aboroth00

Slaine777 wrote: »

For those of you with two subs, where do you have them? Each side of the TV (for HT)? Opposing corners? Stacked?

If you stack your subs, you won't get the benefits of placing your subs in different locations to smooth the room response. By stacking the subs you would probably get somewhere around 6db increase in gain, assuming the subs are identical of course.

If you wish to improve room response, it is usually recommended you position your subs symmetrically. You can have mid-wall placement, either side or front, or corner placement in opposite corners. If you have 4 subs you can have it in all four corners or all 4 mid-walls.

Personally for myself, placement wise, it was best that I placed the front sub slightly to the left of the center, 2 subs on the sidewall and one sub immediately behind the LP. I've since downgraded and only have two subs front and back. The FR is not as smooth as I had measured with the two subs on the side wall as expected.

over50

In reguards to subwoofer, would you expert users recommend isolation platform.
Or would spike's be ok. My room is approximently 11X20 carpet.

mantis

Face wrote: »

Multiple subs will have smoother in room response. http://www.harman.com/EN-US/OurCompany/Technologyleadership/Documents/White%20Papers/multsubs.pdf

Excellent read , thanks for sharing. I'm always interested in view points when it comes to sound pressure and filling a room as such.

mantis

DMara wrote: »

The best location for my dual subs in my living room is:

Pic#1:



Pic#2:


They are shaking my sofa, literally :biggrin:

I suggest wall mounting that center channel directly underneath your Display and getting it off the floor. It will perform better in that position. Or get a taler center channel stand if you don't wish to fish the wire inside the wall.
I have hung many LSIC's on wall and always felt it performed better then free standing. The wall seemed to help improve mid bass performance.

mantis

As said in many different ways , adding a second sub is for coverage . It will help get rid of null spots in your room. More seats will have coverage then just with 1 sub.

I run 2 subs and have considered adding a 3rd. But honestly I'm very happy with 2.

jinjuku

When going the route of multiple subs get something to actively manage the subs if you can.

danz1906

jinjuku wrote: »

When going the route of multiple subs get something to actively manage the subs if you can.

Great advice!

ViperZ

jinjuku wrote: »

When going the route of multiple subs get something to actively manage the subs if you can.

That's very true, as multiple subs can have huge peaks or dips in the room frequency response (can even cancel each other out at certain frequencies). I am using dual NHT SubTwo subs with Velodyne SMS-1. Adding SMS-1 made a huge difference in the system. The bass response in my old room changed significantly - it literally shifted from left to more center/widespread bass (I was limited to keeping both subs in front, which is not a recommended setup).

m60cs2

My receiver is 7.1. Can I just use a Y rca splitter to add a second sub to go to 7.2? Or do I need 2 sub pre outs on the receiver?

jinjuku

Yes you could.

Advantage

Good question and often comes up as a subject of debate. I was too in your same situation a few months back. I would, of course, love Mantis' setup with dual JL Audio F113's; that would be the ultimate in my book. However, for the common man, I couldn't justify spending that sort of coin on subwoofers. Some day I'll convince my wife.

I was between getting 2 Polk MicroPro 4000's versus 1 SVS PB13-Ultra. There are a few on this board that have 2 4000's and absolutely love them. You should read DarqueKnight's critique of the MicroPro 4000. It's a great read and very informative.

For me, I ended up going with the 1 SVS and have really enjoyed it. Believe me, the output of this monster is unbelievable. It literally vibrates the dishes on the main level and the sub is in the basement. Of course, the room response I would suspect would be flatter had I gone the route of 2 4000's.

Sherardp

Love dual subs. Hey DMara love the Lovan M2 Center, I have the same one in my HT.

Toxis

Say you already have a single sub and want a little better sound (not so much output necessarily). Would you rather add a second sub or add an SMS-1? This is something I'm thinking about currently...

DMara wrote: »

Pic#2:


They are shaking my sofa, literally :biggrin:

While I can't stop drooling over your setup, I got a chuckle at your thermastat. Time to get that paint back out...

Mr Glide

I recently acquired new PSW505. It's very powerful (300 watts), however, I feel find that my 15 year old Velodyne CT100 has tighter, cleaner bass (perhaps the new location where boomy PSW505 is now located makes it sound bit less desirable (?), will have to investigate).

I hear everyone here saying is to get the same model of sub as 2nd sub. Since PSW505 being an obsolete model, I am don't know how long it's going to be available (out of stock these days at most internet sites). So, I need to make decision soon whether to pull trigger for 2nd one or not. Wish Polk folks let us know when they really plan to stop manufacturing their products.

In any case, your input is appreciated. Seems like no one has done serious tests (e.g. using test CD,etc.) for 2 subs setup, but general consensus so far seems to be that 2 is better than one.


Specifically, does anyone have 2 PSW505s in their setup? Care to share your experience?


Also, is there such thing (test track, cd,etc.) available to see difference specifically between 1 sub and 2 subs in a particular setup?

Thanks!

DMara

Toxis wrote: »

While I can't stop drooling over your setup, I got a chuckle at your thermastat. Time to get that paint back out...

Are you talking about moving the thermostat or are you talking about the paint?
If it's about the paint around the thermostat, then it's just the shadow while taking picture, not a painting problem
Now if you're talking about moving the thermostat, hmm, I'm lazy now :biggrin:

mak99

Mr Glide wrote: »

Specifically, does anyone have 2 PSW505s in their setup? Care to share your experience?

Some time ago, I had dual 505's...for about a day. While I liked the 505 in terms of price/performance, the physical size just looked goofy along the front wall, along with a Salamander Triple 20 rack and a pair of RTi70s. It looked like a used stereo store cramming everything they could along one wall.

I ended up selling both 505's and eventually bought dual microPro 1000's. Their smaller size looked a bit better in the same locations as the 505's. I also liked their sound better, tighter and less boomy than the 505's. Sealed vs ported probably contributed to that... If you search my old posts, I gave my review of 505 vs microPro (IIRC), and also my review of dual microPros.

Like others have mentioned, running duals will give you better distributed bass response across a larger listening area. The dual microPros seemed to do a great job of doing this...

However, I ended up selling both the microPros just over a year ago and upgraded to an MFW-15, which gave much deeper bass output than the 1000's could ever think about. And in the last few months, that sub was upgraded with the Turbo kit (better driver + 1000w ext. amp) that takes the performance up near the "big boys". I'd love to buy another MFW/Turbo in the future to run duals...

If you have the room and $$, buy another 505 from Newegg when they are priced at $200 shipped...

cfrizz

I have dual subs, and what I discovered is that it will balance out the bass which will sound better. If you are in a tiny room, then 1 will suffice, however I would say in your size room having two subs would be a nice improvement.