Placing the second sub

[jsteinhauer]

I finally picked up my second subwoofer yesterday and hope to get around to installing this weekend. From Big Daddy's subwoofer guide posts, it seems the best way to position two subs is front corners, front-back, side-side. Front-back is not possible. Side-side would be very impractical. My issue with corners (actually just medial from the corners) is that while taking measurements with one sub, it did not matter which front corner I placed it in. I had about a 15dB hole in the listening position in the 50-60Hz range. Can placing subs in both corners alleviate this, or will it only emphasize it?

Is there a problem with placing one in the front and one on a side? Or does it just depend on the measurments?

Also, if adding a second sub via a RCA splitter from a single sub out, do I need to bump up the gain on the sub at all?

[HAMP]

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

if adding a second sub via a RCA splitter from a single sub out, do I need to bump up the gain on the sub at all?

I had to turn mine down.

[Carlsberg19]

i also have similar question..say u have 2 subs with 250 watt driver each and u y lead it to the reciever..do u get less power to both of the subs, as in..does the reciver have a max sub out wattage ?

[aramis109]

Originally Posted by Carlsberg19

i also have similar question..say u have 2 subs with 250 watt driver each and u y lead it to the reciever..do u get less power to both of the subs, as in..does the reciver have a max sub out wattage ?

Nah, they're self-powered/amped. I would think the biggest issue would be signal degradation if you over-split the signal. At that point you'd probably look at bridging solutions instead, but that's not going to come into play on 2 subs.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by HAMP

I had to turn mine down.

I'll probably do that at the outset, just to prevent any surprises, but both options have been suggested to me, and I'm not sure why either applies to a powered sub.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

I finally picked up my second subwoofer yesterday and hope to get around to installing this weekend. From Big Daddy's subwoofer guide posts, it seems the best way to position two subs is front corners, front-back, side-side. Front-back is not possible. Side-side would be very impractical. My issue with corners (actually just medial from the corners) is that while taking measurements with one sub, it did not matter which front corner I placed it in. I had about a 15dB hole in the listening position in the 50-60Hz range. Can placing subs in both corners alleviate this, or will it only emphasize it?

Is there a problem with placing one in the front and one on a side? Or does it just depend on the measurments?

Also, if adding a second sub via a RCA splitter from a single sub out, do I need to bump up the gain on the sub at all?

Don't mess with splitting RCA, etc. Just use a Y adapter (1 male, two female) and run one cable to each sub.

There is no easy solution for one or two subwoofer placements. Each room is different and these dreaded standing waves make our lives difficult. If you can, use the crawl technique and place one subwoofer in a high pressure zone. Put the other subwoofer in a low pressure zone. You may get better results.

Another option is to put one subwoofer close to your sofa/seat and the other one in a corner. This is what Dr. Hsu always recommends. The subwoofer in the corner will give you low frequency bass sound and the one close to you will give you higher frequency bass sound. It may also tickle your behind.

Make sure you calibrate your speakers after this. Using the pink noise out of the receiver may not be enough for your subwoofers. Use test tones around the crossover point and average them. The procedure is explained in the Guide (Part I). There are links for free test tones in Guide (Part II).

Your last option is to buy an equalizer for the subwoofers and adjust the frequencies. Remember that you should not boost the low frequencies. You should use the equalizer to reduce the frequency peaks.

[jsteinhauer]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

Don't mess with splitting RCA, etc. Just use a Y adapter (1 male, two female) and run one cable to each sub.

A Y-adapter is what I meant. It's what I have. Though they are different things, that is not inherent in their names.

Anyway, your answer is good. With time and experimentation, I should be able to find suitable locations for the two that improve on my experience with one.

[HAMP]

Originally Posted by jsteinhauer

A Y-adapter is what I meant. It's what I have. Though they are different things, that is not inherent in their names.

Anyway, your answer is good. With time and experimentation, I should be able to find suitable locations for the two that improve on my experience with one.

I would also check your sub manual and find out what they recommend for placement.

I have the Klipsch Sub-12 and here is a quote from my manual:

Please note that room placement can have a dramatic effect upon the performance of your
powered subwoofer. Corner placement, as suggested above, will increase the amount of bass
output, while placing the subwoofer along the middle of a wall, or out in the room will decrease the
amount of bass output.

As you can see printed in bold, placing mine along the middle of the wall or out in the room will decrease the bass output.

Even tho mine are downfiring subs, the bass output is coming from the rear port and it seems the bass bouncing off the wall is the cause of it.

While other's seem to have the full power of the bass coming out the port alone without bouncing off the wall to get the proper effect.( the bass pro's am I saying this right?)