Question about adding another sub in odd shaped room

[tbizzle]

Ok I know there's been a few of these threads recently, but I have a few room specific questions.

I'm thinking about adding my "pre-upgreade-itis" sub into my setup. My living room is oddly shaped and my main viewing couch is in the middle of the room, a "dead spot" for bass. I can feel the bass ok, but it's not quite as hard hitting as I'd like it to be. The other couch is against the wall and the bass is pretty loud there. So I've been thinking of putting my other sub, a Polk PSW10 near the seating positions to even the bass out. It will be opposite my A2-300.

I know Forsberg added a PSW10 recently and said that he loved it. But I was reading Big Daddy's sub post and he was saying that ideally, with the inclusion of 2 or more subs into any setup, the subs should be identical. My question is, would this be ok with my setup? I made a quick sketch on how my room is laid out. I'm thinking of adding the PSW10 to the "X" in between the couches.



If you guys think I should go for it, how would I adjust the settings and all that? (sorry, still a noob). And would I need to change any settings on the receiver, or do I just add a splitter?

Thanks

[Fors*]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Ok I know there's been a few of these threads recently, but I have a few room specific questions.

I'm thinking about adding my "pre-upgreade-itis" sub into my setup. My living room is oddly shaped and my main viewing couch is in the middle of the room, a "dead spot" for bass. I can feel the bass ok, but it's not quite as hard hitting as I'd like it to be. The other couch is against the wall and the bass is pretty loud there. So I've been thinking of putting my other sub, a Polk PSW10 near the seating positions to even the bass out. It will be opposite my A2-300.

I know Forsberg added a PSW10 recently and said that he loved it. But I was reading Big Daddy's sub post and he was saying that ideally, with the inclusion of 2 or more subs into any setup, the subs should be identical. My question is, would this be ok with my setup? I made a quick sketch on how my room is laid out. I'm thinking of adding the PSW10 to the "X" in between the couches.



If you guys think I should go for it, how would I adjust the settings and all that? (sorry, still a noob). And would I need to change any settings on the receiver, or do I just add a splitter?

Thanks

Hey tbizzle. Adding a second sub is the right approach with your set-up. I use my PSW10 to "compliment" the low frequency response around my primary seating position, especially because like your primary seating position, there is a lot of space behind it. That is why I set up my PSW10 to me left next to the couch now. I have been playing a bit with location for this thing, as i still think I can get the frequency response to be more consistent that the 3 or 4 db difference I was reading on my SPL meter. I still have not found an optimal place. I do not think the bass voids I had are as "dead" now, as there is additional bass getting to them now, but it is still not where I want the db level to be, as it varies just a little too much from my primary seating position as I would like it to be. I may never find what I want, but at least by then I will know I tried to do something about it and what I will have will be the best I can do with my room.

As you know, it all comes down to location, especially for a 2 sub set-up to provide even bass response. The sub crawl is a good start to find those locations that are strongest and those that are weakest. This you would put the sub in your primary seating position and then go to a place within the room and listen to where you think the bass is the strongest, then this would be where you would end up putting the sub. Big Daddy has also informed me that you can use a "better" sub with a "lesser" sub, but it will take a lot more "tweaking" with location to get them to be dialed-in together. Like I said, I don't think I have found it yet with all of my tweaking with my SPL meter, but I am closer.

Here is BD sticky on standing waves and room modes, which explains the sub crawl in better detail. https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=48286

So, my answer with your settings is to get an SPL meter, especially because of the way your room is laid out. You would also need to re-run your auto-calibration every time you move your sub too. Every time I move my subs, I have to re-run the auto-calibration, and then test it with my SPL meter before I am satisfied, if I can call it that. So it takes some time to do. Finally, yes, you would need the Y-splitter out of your sub-out from your receiver to set up 2 subs.

I hope some of this helps....good luck!

[tbizzle]

Sweet, thanks for the input Forsberg. So is there anything I need to adjust on the back of the subs so they will cooperate with each other, or do I just need to adjust the volumes so they complement each other?

Reason I'm asking is because I read BD's stuff and I saw this

"If using two subwoofers, you must use the identical model of subwoofer. If two different models are used, even from the same manufacturer at some points they will help each other, at others they will fight each other causing a uneven response.”

Just wondering if there's anything specific I need to do to get them to work together

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by tbizzle

Sweet, thanks for the input Forsberg. So is there anything I need to adjust on the back of the subs so they will cooperate with each other, or do I just need to adjust the volumes so they complement each other?

Reason I'm asking is because I read BD's stuff and I saw this

"If using two subwoofers, you must use the identical model of subwoofer. If two different models are used, even from the same manufacturer at some points they will help each other, at others they will fight each other causing a uneven response.”

Just wondering if there's anything specific I need to do to get them to work together

For two subwoofers, you need to worry about three things:

1. Location in the room: Usually the middle of the side walls or the middle of the front/rear walls are the best.
2. Their levels: I explained in my other post.
3. Their phase: Read A Guide to Subwoofers.

The last thing you can do is bass equalization. The Audyssey calibration program does some basic equalization or you can buy the Velodyne SMS-1 Equalizer/Analyzer for $500.