Advice on room correction vs new equipment

[willbeeching]

I forgot to ask you, is this with music or moves? Due to your open floor plan is hard to predict what is going on with the bass.
If this was a normal rectangular room, it would be quite opposite of what you are describing. The middle of the room will NOT have low bass and bass would be strong at the boundaries of the room. Your main speakers go low enough for music but need to be positioned "right". Above 80Hz you can use broadband absorbers (min. 4-6 inches thick) that are spaced from the wall a few inches. Everything below that is EQ, sub(s), or specially designed diaphragmatic bass trap. Btw, I use the KEF KC92 sub and it's amazing but costly. Good luck.

This is more obvious with music, however movies can feel a bit flat too.

 

[bo_knows]

This is more obvious with music, however movies can feel a bit flat too.

Quote from soundstage KEF R000b subwoofer review:

The R400b didn’t much extend the response of the KEF R900 floorstanders, which are nearly full-range speakers, but it did provide the lows with more weight and definition (in his room). With “Tennis Court,” from Lorde’s Pure Heroine (24/48 FLAC, Lava/Republic), both the quick, percussive synth beat and the longer sustained bass notes lacked some weight without the R400b. Not only that, but the added underpinning provided by the KEF sub deepened the soundstage and made for a more solid and cohesive sound overall.

https://www.soundstageaccess.com/index.php/equipment-reviews/671-kef-r400b-subwoofer
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I do recommend a subwoofer to minimize the distortion of the main speakers in sub 80Hz range. Amplifier and speakers will thank you for it. You can place the subwoofer in the more optimal place and EQ the peaks. This will allow you to move your main speakers into a different position where those bass dips may not be as prominent. I'm in a different situation where I converted the office into a small home theater and I was able to deploy a large amount of DIY bass absorption panels. This all helped with rining and smooth out some FR responses from the 250-70Hz range. Door to the office, windows, walls, and ac diffuser openings help low bass to escape. My R500 reached flat to 30Hz but the rest of the bass range was not flat (big dip in 50-60Hz range) and the subwoofer plus Audyssey app helped a lot. You can see more at:
https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...-sub-what-are-your-opinions.15838/post-519895
Good luck!

 

[Trell]

There are so many exceptions to the claims you are making and so much inherent vagueness, that they are misleading.

Not the poster you replied to, but the various ID subwoofer manufacturers generally gives much more raw performance for the money compared to speaker companies. Of course there are exceptions, like Arendal and SVS that also sells very good speakers.

I bought a Genelec 7360A subwoofer for my two Genelec 8330A monitors, but for the money I paid for the 7360A I could have gotten a much more powerful subwoofer elsewhere. So why did I buy it? Because of the GLM integration with the monitors that works very well.

 

[alex-z]

I was thinking of getting 2 subs and placing them either end of the sofa. I was looking at the KEF Kube 12b just so all the speaker equipment is the same brand. Or would you say the SVS is vastly better?

In this instance, SVS is vastly better. KEF subs are focused on being compact, which has a negative impact on bass performance.

Branding matching speakers to your subs has no benefit. There is no hidden property that makes them blend better.

 

[Astrozombie]

Doubt it's gonna happen because of the WAF but that room needs to be flipped IMO. Tower speakers (or all speakers?) need to be pulled out from the wall and given room to "breathe", looks easier if they were on the left side of the room.