2 subs, one front firing, one bottom...

camtah

OK, So I just picked up a PSW505 and I currently have a cheapo KLH E12DB, bottom
firing SW located in the corner, behind the big screen TV. I read the threads on stacking and I have decided to try this out later tonight. Both subs are comparable in size. I have all speakers set to small and I use the LFE (80Hz)

Questions:
* Should the PWS505 (front firing) be put top of the KLH (bottom firing) ?
* Would the differences between these 2 cause conflicts or compliment each other?
* Should I dump the KLH altogether?

My current setup:

Electronics
-Pioneer VSX-74TXVi
-Pioneer AVI-59

Speakers
-Polk RTi8 fronts
-Polk CSi5 Center
-Polk RT7 surrounds <- may replace soon with FXi3 or FXi5
-Polk CSi3 back

BrentMcGhee

Personally i would dump the klh all together. The stacking thing is going to be best done with two identical sibs. Now granted i would probably play around with it a little bit anyway before i tossed the klh but even though polk does not make all that great of subs the polk you have will be leaps and bounds above the klh so just mess around with it a little bit for some fun and then get serious and calibrate only the polk into your system.

My .02

Tritonman

What you should do, which should complement better, is place the subs at opposite corners to pressurize more air in the room instead of placing them in the same corner stacked on each other. That should yield a more even bass response accross the board throughout the room.

This works better with matching subs..but based on what you have i would suggest the above. I would also start looking into purchasing a single better sub that will outperform both of those together.

dkg999

I use an SVS cylinder down firing sub (20-39 pc+) in the front left corner and an SVS front firing sub (PB10) in the rear right corner, and it completely pressurizes the living room of my apt! I equalize using only the front sub, then work up the volume and phase on the rear sub until it sounds and feels right.

PolkThug

Tritonman wrote:

What you should do, which should complement better, is place the subs at opposite corners to pressurize more air in the room instead of placing them in the same corner stacked on each other. That should yield a more even bass response accross the board throughout the room.

Negative. Placing subs opposite each other will often cause cancellations at certain frequencies (you may not realize it at first unless you run sweeps).

For the most output, stacked and corner loaded will usually yield the best gains.

VR3

Negative.

Although is can cause cancelation - STEREO subs (producing left and right channel sound) can and often does perform better than stacked subs.

Tritonman

PolkThug wrote:

Negative. Placing subs opposite each other will often cause cancellations at certain frequencies (you may not realize it at first unless you run sweeps).

For the most output, stacked and corner loaded will usually yield the best gains.

http://www.axiomaudio.com/tips_two_subwoofers.html?1055

"As to setup, try the subwoofers in opposite corners (diagonally) of the room, one in the front and one at the back, with an initial crossover setting of 80 Hz and the rear sub phase switch on 180. If the subs are too boomy in the corners, move them away from the corners along one wall or the other until you get smooth coverage of deep bass from the main seating areas in the room. Another recommended placement for dual subwoofers is on opposite end walls in the middle of each wall, or on opposite side walls in the middle of each wall."


http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/34579/107955.html


"Adding a second subwoofer won't cure the problem of standing waves or uneven bass, but it will result in a greater number of listeners hearing smoother overall bass in more locations. Try placing the second subwoofer in a location near the wall opposite the first subwoofer."


Long but good read.

http://www.harman.com/wp/pdf/multsubs.pdf

PolkThug

I've had dual Polk 505's and now have dual PB10's. I measured both sets in multiple configurations, and the best frequency response always came back to a stacked and corner loaded configuration. When the subs were across from each other, it resulted in large dips in the freq response. I probably still have the charts on my laptop.

That's how it works in MY room biznitches!

camtah

Well I solved my issue. I picked up a second PSW505 at Fry's for $349 and
stacked it on the other one. I removed the KLH entirely. Good move although
I can't crank it quite yet until I move into my new home.

Anyone want a KLH subwoofer before I put it on e-bay????

aaharvel

burn it. I would.

welcome to the forums btw.

outlawsmj

Hey, this is the first I've heard of stacking subs. I've got a PSW 150 and a PSW 404. I've been playing around with the two trying to find the best location. I've put the 404 in the right rear corner and the 150 in front left corner of the room. It sounds much better but I can still tell that the 404 is stronger hitting even though they are both 200w. What will stacking do and what's the best frequencey to set them?

HK AVR 230
RT 12 floor speakers
RT f/x rear
CS250
PSW 150
PSW 404

PolkThug

outlawsmj wrote:

Hey, this is the first I've heard of stacking subs. I've got a PSW 150 and a PSW 404. I've been playing around with the two trying to find the best location. I've put the 404 in the right rear corner and the 150 in front left corner of the room. It sounds much better but I can still tell that the 404 is stronger hitting even though they are both 200w. What will stacking do and what's the best frequencey to set them?

HK AVR 230
RT 12 floor speakers
RT f/x rear
CS250
PSW 150
PSW 404

Do you have any way to play a test tone and measure the output?

outlawsmj

No I sure don't. Is there something quick and easy that I could purchase for this?

Tritonman

outlawsmj wrote:

No I sure don't. Is there something quick and easy that I could purchase for this?

Rat shack meter and room eq.


http://homepage.ntlworld.com/john.mulcahy/roomeq/ free!

Edit: btw i still stand firm on not stacking subs (for the record and all)

soiset

I picked up a second psw 1200, and am eager for suggestions re hookup. All of my other speakers are currently S4's (hey, at least they all match) and I will be moving to all LSi in the future.

As far as wiring goes, here's what I see as my options:
1) Put a splitter on the 2V LFE output, with the subs paired with left and right with the front mains, and let the Yammy rx-v2500 manage the crossovers.
2)Go speaker level, left and right, to the sub inputs, then out to the mid/hi's from the subs, using the crossover in the psw1200 amp.
3)Bi-amp, using the A speaker outputs to the subs, and the B speaker outputs to the mid/hi's. The Yammy is supposed to be able to do this, according to the manual.

Any problems, hints, further suggestions?

I'm also thinking that the best place for the subs might be symmetrically beneath the front mains (especially once I get the LSi 9's). This would be my version of the LSI 25's.

Thanks,
Chris