Why go multiple subwoofers?
There has been a lot of discussion on AV forums about the concept of running multiple subwoofers with a bit of confusion created about the reason why.
We all know that one friend that just loves having their big sub turned up loud and thumping throughout their house, which isn't a bad thing if you're really into your bass.
For those looking to get the best from their home theatre or Hi-Fi set up, having multiple smaller subwoofers can be a great upgrade to consider.
We've provided a list of some of the benefits of running multiple subwoofers in your system below:
Small subwoofers can fit where one large subwoofer can not.
Many enthusiasts use their living room or lounge room for their music or theater system, and can be restricted on subwoofer placement, as well as ensuring it doesn't clash with the surrounding furniture. This can result in having too confined a space for a single large subwoofer to fit and perform effectively for the room space.
With 2 or more smaller subs however, having a smaller footprint than a larger subwoofer, can fit in more locations and still provide similar performance as a single larger subwoofer.
Improved Sound Throughout your Listening Positions
Finding the sweet spot for one subwoofer can take a long process, and might only be optimal for one listening position. With some subwoofers, when it's been tuned for your ideal listening position, you might experience a notably poorer bass response.
Due to the nature of bass frequencies and signals, a subwoofer will generate a unique 'modal pattern' (standing waves with peaks and nulls) which be affected by the subs position and your listening position in the room.
When using multiple subwoofers in a set up that are placed in a proper location, the respective modal patterns will overlap each other and increase the modal density in the room. This overlap and density increase can result in smoother signal responses in more listening positions in the room, and any obvious peaks/nulls in the frequency response will be less potential.
If you are using an auto system set up, such as Audyssey MultiEQ or AccuEQ, this can make it easier to sort out your subs equalization as well.</p
True Cinema Experience
When considering a dedicated home cinema system, with a system running discreetly behind a screen and tiered seating, most cinema setups will require at least 2 subwoofers as a minimum to fill the room.
Some speaker manufacturers, such as the award winning Australian brand Krix, design cinema speaker arrangements with dual subwoofers to match the performance of the dedicated front stage speakers to get the most out of a room's bass response.
In much larger setups, as well as the dual subwoofers up the front, many systems include either an extra 2 or 4 subwoofers in the rear and/or sides of the room to give a better bass response throughout the room. This generally relies on running professional grade equalizing systems and will require a specialist to tune the system correctly for you. If this is something you are considering, we can help with the planning stage of these systems for you if you call one of our system experts.
Bass is all around you
When running a single subwoofer, it can be quite easy to identify the location of where the subwoofer is running in regards to the surround setup. When running multiple subwoofers, this can be harder to achieve as the bass frequency is more immersive, coming from multiple locations. It can be quite difficult going back to a single subwoofer after experiencing this level of immersion!
Recommend Subwoofer Placement with Multiple Subwoofers
Extensive testing goes into finding the ideal placement for running multiple subwoofers, with some optimal locations listed below for those considering starting off with a dual system setup:
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- 1. Front stage, between the center channel and front main speakers
- 2. Front stage in the corners behind front mains
- 3. Mid-points along the side walls
- 4. Opposite diagonal corners, such as front left and rear right corners
For advice on what subwoofers are best for your setup, you can contact us on 1800 692 225 and speak with one our system experts today!
