Nearfield + big room = big subwoofer?

[sajgre]

I'm getting into my first desktop setup (genelec 8330). Since desk is on a mezzanine above a large space, do I need to consider big subwoofers or is something like 7350 enough since it would be close to LP?

In another words, is the size of subwoofer(s) dependant on room size or on distance to listener?

 

[Chrispy]

Both

 

[darkinners]

It depends on how loud you listen to.
Larger and higher power speaker/subwoofer have higher headroom for your too crank them up without the limiter/protection kicking in and driver started to lose its control and introduce distortion.

If you listen very low volume, say 60dBSPL

You probably won’t notice any difference between 7350 and 7370.

 

[alex-z]

Bigger rooms will have less room gain, requiring the subwoofer be capable of more SPL at low frequencies.

Distance to the listening position also matters, not just for SPL, but also the overall frequency response. If you sit in a room mode null, you either accept the null, or use EQ to fill it, necessitating higher SPL from the sub. If you can, you want to position the subwoofer and listening position so that any nulls are above 60-80Hz, where porous absorbers work best, meaning your acoustic treatment remains cheap.

With Genelec subs, you pay a great deal for the GLM integration and build quality. A $600 SVS SB-1000 Pro could comfortably match the $2500 Genelec 7360A in performance, but you would have to do the integration yourself. If you consider the cost of a miniDSP Flex, Dirac Live license, and measurement mic, that is $850 extra, and probably 2-3 hours of fine tuning for someone unfamiliar with the process. If you are mixing/mastering music, I would tell you to just use GLM, convenience is priceless in a professional setting.

 

[sajgre]

It depends on how loud you listen to.
Larger and higher power speaker/subwoofer have higher headroom for your too crank them up without the limiter/protection kicking in and driver started to lose its control and introduce distortion.

If you listen very low volume, say 60dBSPL

You probably won’t notice any difference between 7350 and 7370.

I know about dsp limitations with different subs but what I don't understand is if sub is very near LP, does it still need to be big if the room is big?

 

[tuga]

I'm getting into my first desktop setup (genelec 8330). Since desk is on a mezzanine above a large space, do I need to consider big subwoofers or is something like 7350 enough since it would be close to LP?

In another words, is the size of subwoofer(s) dependant on room size or on distance to listener?

If you listen nearfield in a big room you won't need a large sub for its max-SPL capabilities, perhaps for the lower distortion and/or wider frequency range.

 

[dasdoing]

I once tried a subwoofer in the very nearfield (behind the couch, fireing right into my back) and I can tell you your a-s-s will vibrate lol.
and yes, I had to put the volume knob way lower

 

[tomkatt]

Generally with nearfield listening, IMO it's best to keep the subwoofer centered between the speakers or in a nearby corner. You don't need to crank it up because you're close and it doesn't really need to fill the room in the same way. Ideally it should just blend into the main speakers, making it sound like their range has increased, the sub itself shouldn't be noticeable, other than if you turn it off and notice the lack of it.

For my nearfield setup at my office desk, I just have the speakers on stands at either side and the sub is directly under the desk. It's plenty of bass, I only have the sub at maybe 25-30% and it can rattle the room and be felt down the hall if I turn things up. And that's with only an 8" sub, but the room is only 12' x 10'. I don't even think I'd want to consider something bigger, though depending on the space, a larger sub might be better. I have a 12" sub in my living room, which is 14'x30' and the single sub has been plenty there. It's also turned down, probably set to 40-50% and blends nicely with the fronts

 

[kongwee]

As above. Near field is already less 1.5 apart left right. Get a sub that goes low as you are near the monitor. For me, 7350 is enough for 808 music. Of course, you wanna do Dolby Atoms you can get lower subwoofer.

 

[Sputnik]

I have a nearfield 2.1 and a farfield 5.2.4 setup in the same space. The 2.1 has an 8 inch ported sub under the desk, the other has 2 10 inch sealed subs.

The 2.1 with 8 inch never sounds lacking in bass, it's in a corner of a long open floorplan with 30m² + 25m² + 15m² 'rooms' with the dividing walls removed and 3,5m high ceilings.

The 2.1 sounds and measures very well down to 40hz, which is all I could hope for from a small and cheap Edifier sub.

 

[DVDdoug]

At 60dB SPL I'd guess you'll be fine. In fact, you probably won't even hear the sub unless you exaggerate the bass (Equal Loudness Curves).

If you are listening at "realistic" levels (near live music levels or movie theater levels) you'd need a larger woofer to get bass you can feel in your body.

 

[sajgre]

Thanks everybody. I'll try 7350 first and see what it delivers in my setup.

 

[sajgre]

I finally got 8330 + 7350. Glm integrates sub seamlessly. I have it left of my LP, closer to the corner. This is how it measures in my LP. Crossed at 85Hz