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More (Different?) Subwoofer Questions...

GDK

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I know that there is a currently active thread right now with some basic subwoofer questions (which I have been following), but I have a different use case and therefore I hope the members will indulge me here...

I have a small, audio-only, listening room with a pair of relatively compact, floor-standing speakers (Sonettos IIIs) and am considering adding a subwoofer or two into the mix, but given the current environment I can’t really borrow one to try out for myself and therefore I was hoping instead to borrow some knowledge from the community here.

1. Would a subwoofer (or subwoofers) enhance the sound of the room?

I have some challenges with reflections in the room, which typically results in a very large LF peak/null. I have managed to find a way to reduce it through speaker placement and I use room correction DSP to try to make the best of it. Would a subwoofer set up possibly help with this or am I chasing my tail in that those same reflections will just impact the subwoofer output in the same way?

2. My amp (NAD C388) has a single subwoofer out which apparently sends all LF information below 150Hz to the speaker. Does this mean that I need to chose a subwoofer that can be set this high or can I simply ignore it and choose my own cross-over point based on the room dynamics? It seems like it might be an irritating limitation.

3. I won’t ask about whether I should add one or two sub-woofers, but I did have a more basic question than that: if I wanted to drive 2 new speakers, would I need to add any additional hardware for the second one?

Many thanks in advance.
 

sigbergaudio

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1. Yes, a subwoofer, typically placed somewhere else in the room, is very likely to help peak/null problems, but will also possibly introduce some new. So DSP/eq (automatic or manual) is recommended.
2. I took a quick look in the manual of C388, and it seems you have one of several stupidly designed amplifiers with a senseless setup for subwoofers. But hey, at least it has a subwoofer / pre out. It apparently has a fixed crossover of 150hz which is a very strange choice. It MAY work, especially if your subwoofer is placed closed to the mains (which is likely not the optimal location), but more likely it's better to leave it as a full range pre-out, and crossover the subwoofer very low via the crossover settings on the subwoofer. Or get a new amplifier. :)
3. If you add two subwoofers, you can connect both to the one pre-out you have (use a RCA y-split), no additional hardware needed.
 
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GDK

GDK

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That’s extremely helpful! Thank you for taking the time to do that!
 

RayDunzl

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1. Would a subwoofer (or subwoofers) enhance the sound of the room?

It should enhance the sound of the music if you are currently missing low bass frequencies.


2. My amp (NAD C388) has a single subwoofer out which apparently sends all LF information below 150Hz to the speaker.

An inexpensive miniDSP can individually adjust the frequency response and timing of up to four subs from one input signal.

miniDSP 2x4 or 2x4HD


3. I won’t ask about whether I should add one or two sub-woofers, but I did have a more basic question than that: if I wanted to drive 2 new speakers, would I need to add any additional hardware for the second one?

Don't understand the question.
 
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GDK

GDK

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It should enhance the sound of the music if you are currently missing low bass frequencies.




An inexpensive miniDSP can individually adjust the frequency response and timing of up to four subs from one input signal.

miniDSP 2x4 or 2x4HD




Don't understand the question.

Thanks, Ray. You are certainly right on your first point. I am hoping that the room itself continues its silent existence.

My third question was simply how I could use two subwoofers if I only had one output on the amp, but I now understand that you can simply split the RCA outputs.
 

samysound

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Thanks, Ray. You are certainly right on your first point. I am hoping that the room itself continues its silent existence.

My third question was simply how I could use two subwoofers if I only had one output on the amp, but I now understand that you can simply split the RCA outputs.
Some subwoofers also have facility to "daisy chain" for connecting additonal subs
 
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