Dual subs for desktop with iLoud MTM

[fudun]

As mentioned in another thread, my basement was flooded and I lost most of my gear. Not to mention that I am left with very little space while the basement is being rebuilt.

So while I wait for the basement to return to me in all its glory and probably new gear in a new listening space, I am left with headphones at my crammed-in desk in one of our bedrooms.

I have a couple of iLoud MTMs in order - with mic stands.

I suspect I will quickly get annoyed with the speakers and return them if I don't add in a sub or two. I have a MiniDSP DDRC-24 which I may be able to revive when I find a new power supply unit for it, and if not, I am buying a new one, maybe a Flex.

I see that some people seem to be happy with the Presonus Eris Sub 8 for this setup, and that might work. They are dirt cheap, so buying one or two wouldn't hurt the wallet one bit even if it's just a temporary setup. But how good are they really compared to other subs in the same price range? I find several at approximately the same price, and some 10" stuff that isn't impossible to fit under a desk. I don't need to have a sub with high pass filter, as I will probably run through the miniDSP.

Or to rephrase; what would you buy as (ultra) near field subs at a budget of like 500 USD? Being compact is of course a pro, but as long as they aren't wider than 40 cm I should still have space for legs under the table.

 

[dominikz]

If you need more LF extension, it seems to me that Polk HTS 10 and 12 show solid performance for relatively little money.

• Sub comparison including Polk HTS 10 (with CEA-2010 data)
• Polk HTS 12 review and CEA-2010 data

Otherwise I can see the appeal of a small sub like the PreSonus Eris Sub 8 when space is limited; though I suspect it doesn't really play lower than mid-thirties. Unfortunately I couldn't find any test data for it so it is difficult to comment on performance - still, in an ultra-nearfield desktop system the SPLs are typically so low that not much power is needed and distortion also shouldn't become a problem (unless the sub is really terrible).
I was also limited by space for my desktop system so I went with the very small Adam Sub7. It helped a lot to get a more even bass response (even if it didn't add much additional LF extension). One of the reasons I chose this one was the very compact size and another was automatic power on/off functionality.

 

[staticV3]

@fudun please take a look at sweetchaos' subwoofer spreadsheet: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/subwoofer-comparison.20494/

On a desktop browser, you can create a new temporary filter view, then filter by price and dimensions, and also sort by CEA-2010A performance.

 

[fudun]

Thanks peeps!

The Polk HTS 10 looks nice. It is more than twice the price of the Presonus here in Norway, though.

I would like even response down to 30 Hz after calibration, but I don't need 100 dB. I like the thought of running dual subs under my desk to even the room response, but I haven't tried it yet.

I have spent some time looking at Sweetchaos' sheet. A great tool for comparing subwoofer freq response. Unfortunately I can't find much data on the cheaper subs there. And if I filter by brands available here in Norway I am stuck with only 8 subs under 250 USD with CEA-data left on the list.

 

[staticV3]

I have spent some time looking at Sweetchaos' sheet. A great tool for comparing subwoofer freq response.

Careful: CEA-2010A does not plot frequency response. It tells you how much clean SPL a sub can output at certain frequencies.
The sub's frequency response is an entirely separate matter.

 

[dominikz]

Thanks peeps!

The Polk HTS 10 looks nice. It is more than twice the price of the Presonus here in Norway, though.

I would like even response down to 30 Hz after calibration, but I don't need 100 dB. I like the thought of running dual subs under my desk to even the room response, but I haven't tried it yet.

I have spent some time looking at Sweetchaos' sheet. A great tool for comparing subwoofer freq response. Unfortunately I can't find much data on the cheaper subs there. And if I filter by brands available here in Norway I am stuck with only 8 subs under 250 USD with CEA-data left on the list.

IMHO dual PreSonus Sub8 would probably work quite well, though it is difficult to estimate how low they would play without some measurements (at least in-room). IME mid-thirties are already quite satisfactory for most music, and I suspect that should be very much possible in the nearfield.
One thing to note - I don't believe they have auto-off functionality (best to double-check though).

EDIT: I was able to find this in-room measurement example where a single PreSonus Sub8 seems to play down to the low 30s - not too bad for such a tiny (and cheap) sub!

Careful: CEA-2010A does not plot frequency response. It tells you how much clean SPL a sub can output at certain frequencies.
The sub's frequency response is an entirely separate matter.

Just one comment on this: IME subwoofer frequency response shape is almost completely irrelevant in practice, given how much room modes and SBIR mangle the in-room response. The in-room bass response anyway needs to be EQed to reach any semblance of a balanced response.
So IMHO the most important subwoofer performance characteristics are the LF extension (e.g. -6dB point) and SPL capability.

 

[fudun]

I quick glance at what's available in the Presonus price range is:

• Yamaha NS-SW200
• Jamo S 810
• Klipsch R-8SW
• Polk PSW110
• Pioneer S-51W
• Audi Pro SW-5
• Edifier T5
• Dynavoice challenger Sub 10 EX
• Dynavoice Magic MW10

 

[LTig]

If the Yamaha has any resemblance to his older brethren then go for it. I recently listened to the old SW300 and SW90 (? AFAIR) while visiting two members and both sounded excellent to me (being an owner of a Genelec 7060b).This is of course a subjective opinion.

Edit: these were the YST-SW90 and YST SW300.

 

[LTig]

As mentioned in another thread, my basement was flooded and I lost most of my gear. [..]

The Polk HTS 10 looks nice. It is more than twice the price of the Presonus here in Norway, though.

Oh, you're a victim of "Hans"? It made me seasick on the big ferry to Gothenburg. When it crashed into the waves the water flew up to the windows of the restaurant. We then stayed for a week in Sweden before entering Norway as so many roads were closed.

 

[Ellebob]

2 or more subs is usually about getting more consistent response in listening area and correcting modal problem but EQ is still needed. If you only care about 1 seat you can get a good response with decent placement of seat and sub. EQ is still needed.

 

[fudun]

Careful: CEA-2010A does not plot frequency response. It tells you how much clean SPL a sub can output at certain frequencies.
The sub's frequency response is an entirely separate matter.

I guess it shows the potential of the speaker.

Oh, you're a victim of "Hans"? It made me seasick on the big ferry to Gothenburg. When it crashed into the waves the water flew up to the windows of the restaurant. We then stayed for a week in Sweden before entering Norway as so many roads were closed.

Actually it was a couple of weeks after "Hans". Hans didn't hit this region as hard, but this night we got more rain than I have ever seen. The street where I live is quite elevated, so didn't think we would ever get flooded. But the sewer system wasn't capable of draining all the water, so most of my street got their basements flooded and smelly.

 

[fudun]

2 or more subs is usually about getting more consistent response in listening area and correcting modal problem but EQ is still needed. If you only care about 1 seat you can get a good response with decent placement of seat and sub. EQ is still needed.

Exactly. That is why I am considering a cheap dual config for my desk.

 

[fudun]

I just found a pair of used Yamaha NS-SW100 for a decent price. Might go grab them. But then I can't return them if they're not a match.

 

[Berwhale]

I'm happy with a single Presonus Sub8 with my MTMs (also on mic stands), however, my office is quite small (2.0 x 2.8m) and I don't have much room under my desk for a larger sub.

What i'm not so happy about is my right MTM randomly shutting down or resetting itself. My MTMs were purchased in November 2020, so they are approaching 3 years old and well out of manufacturers warranty. Fortunately, the shop I bought them through (Bax Music) provide a 3 year warranty with most of the hardware they sell. So we shall see how their warranty repair process goes.

*update* I may have blamed the MTMs a little too soon. I re-cabled my desk today so that I could fit my old Tannoy Reveals 402's back into my setup whilst the MTM went back for repair. Whilst doing this, I noticed that the power connection to the old six way IEC distribution strip that I use was loose. So I reconnected everything and used different IEC sockets in the strip. The issue with the right MTM seems to have gone away - it's been playing without issue for several hours now - so it looks like it was just a faulty power connection. I think i'll replace the IEC strip anyway; I pinched it from a junk room at a company I worked at 30 years ago

 

[fudun]

I have started drooling at the Kali WS 6.2 sub instead now. The only problem is that there's only one shop in Norway that has them yet, so the price is set accordingly. Haven't gotten my MTMs yet either, so I have plenty of time. Funny thing is I ordered some Blue Jeans cables for my new setup, and they arrived in three days, sent from Seattle.

 

[Ellebob]

You will love the WS 6.2, I have been using one for about a month with their SM-5-C monitors
Great combo.

 

[fudun]

So I finally got my pair of MTMs in the mail today. One of them was DOA...

 

[Ellebob]

Bummer

 

[fudun]

Yeah, I was sort of prepared for this, was about to ask the shop if they could open and check the speakers before sending. It seems IKs rumors of bad quality control has some truth to it. Makes me doubt the longevity of the speakers as well.

 

[fudun]

Ok, so I finally got two new MTMs to replace the dead one and the other one that had a high pitched noise. The new ones worked, but one of them also had a similar whine - and then went on and died after less than a day.

It was fun while it lasted though - I also got the Kali 6.2 sub and it was a descent sounding setup after some calibration. It should be noted that the calibration solution included from iLoud sucks and the desk preset gave a flatter in room response. Ended up running it through REW and APO for a descent result except from a dip at 200 and 260 Hz (might be the room).

But now I need to figure out what to do. I feel the life span of the iLouds is sketchy at best, so I might as well give up on the miniature format and cram in a couple of larger monitors. After all this desk is temporary, so at some point I will get back in a room with plenty of space.

Any advice on what monitors to get in the same price range as the MTMs? They should be able to go linear at least down to 80 Hz and be fit for near/ultra near field. So maybe something coaxial. They should in general be quite linear so I can EQ them to fit my preferred curve.