Subwoofers - Do you like them ?
Apr 9, 2016 13:29:33 GMT
Post by alex30 on Apr 9, 2016 13:29:33 GMT
Ok,
Just a bit of light hearted fun here but I was wondering about peoples opinions and attitudes to subwoofers.
Although I have been listening to music through my stereo system for more years that I care to remember I have only recently added a subwoofer.I wanted a sub because, although I really like my standmounts, I felt that there was room for a bit more bass.
I did a lot of research and found that many people preferred to rely on full range speakers rather than add in a sub, which they saw as a poor option as they perceived lumpy , flabby , poor quality bass.
Those who favored the idea of a sub stated that it allowed the mains to be placed in their optimum position, independent of the bass source which may demand a different position. They also contended that well designed and implemented modern subs are capable of complementing even high end systems.
So after a false start with a defective unit I bought myself a budget , but well regarded , SVS sealed box design.
What I found out pretty quickly is that integrating a sub into your system may not be easy. I use an amp with no bass management and so had to set the crossover on the sub. Luckily SVS have a guide on their site which allows you to input your speakers and sub and then gives you a crossover value. This was 60 Hz in my case. I did the subwoofer crawl to try and determine the best position and found it to be of some use but not the whole answer. I needed to do quite a lot of trials before I settled on the final spot.
I then tried to set the gain. Struggling to do so I bought a sound level meter. Due to ineptitude I found this to be of very little use although it did help in setting the phase. In the end I resorted to plugging in my bassy Denon headphones and attempted to achieve the same balance of bass to mids coming through my speakers as was coming from the cans. Surprisingly this worked very well and it didn't take long to get the balance that I wanted.
I was now pleased with the results but not totally satisfied. With music the bass could sometimes be a bit thick/smeared . I decided to put the port bungs in my mains which was a little bit of overkill as things now thinned too much. I then increased the crossover on the sub to 90 Hz and hey presto , I found I now had the bass for music that I craved. It was clean , precise and musical and has greatly improved the enjoyment of my collection.
When it's film night I remove the bungs as I am not worried about the bass being a little thick. Films too are much more enjoyable.
So what have I learned ? Firstly that bass drivers require very careful placement and this would put me off full range speakers with no sub. Secondly set up is a nightmare for novices like me but perseverance did pay off and thirdly I wouldn't now be without my sub.
What are other's experiences and what do you think ?
Just a bit of light hearted fun here but I was wondering about peoples opinions and attitudes to subwoofers.
Although I have been listening to music through my stereo system for more years that I care to remember I have only recently added a subwoofer.I wanted a sub because, although I really like my standmounts, I felt that there was room for a bit more bass.
I did a lot of research and found that many people preferred to rely on full range speakers rather than add in a sub, which they saw as a poor option as they perceived lumpy , flabby , poor quality bass.
Those who favored the idea of a sub stated that it allowed the mains to be placed in their optimum position, independent of the bass source which may demand a different position. They also contended that well designed and implemented modern subs are capable of complementing even high end systems.
So after a false start with a defective unit I bought myself a budget , but well regarded , SVS sealed box design.
What I found out pretty quickly is that integrating a sub into your system may not be easy. I use an amp with no bass management and so had to set the crossover on the sub. Luckily SVS have a guide on their site which allows you to input your speakers and sub and then gives you a crossover value. This was 60 Hz in my case. I did the subwoofer crawl to try and determine the best position and found it to be of some use but not the whole answer. I needed to do quite a lot of trials before I settled on the final spot.
I then tried to set the gain. Struggling to do so I bought a sound level meter. Due to ineptitude I found this to be of very little use although it did help in setting the phase. In the end I resorted to plugging in my bassy Denon headphones and attempted to achieve the same balance of bass to mids coming through my speakers as was coming from the cans. Surprisingly this worked very well and it didn't take long to get the balance that I wanted.
I was now pleased with the results but not totally satisfied. With music the bass could sometimes be a bit thick/smeared . I decided to put the port bungs in my mains which was a little bit of overkill as things now thinned too much. I then increased the crossover on the sub to 90 Hz and hey presto , I found I now had the bass for music that I craved. It was clean , precise and musical and has greatly improved the enjoyment of my collection.
When it's film night I remove the bungs as I am not worried about the bass being a little thick. Films too are much more enjoyable.
So what have I learned ? Firstly that bass drivers require very careful placement and this would put me off full range speakers with no sub. Secondly set up is a nightmare for novices like me but perseverance did pay off and thirdly I wouldn't now be without my sub.
What are other's experiences and what do you think ?