How to: Get the most out of your subwoofer
(Credit:
Steve Guttenberg)
I recently participated in a Podcast focusing on subwoofer performance with Home Entertainment magazine's Editor-in-Chief Geoff Morrison, Director of (loudspeaker company) Revel Products, Kevin Voecks, and Brent Butterworth, a freelance writer for a number of magazines including Sound & Vision.
Voecks immediately zeroed in on the importance of placement, which is absolutely crucial to getting the best out of any sub. I'd go so far as to say an average sub, perfectly placed and set up, will outperform a great sub that's been carelessly placed and set up. That's because the sub's interaction with room acoustics can play havoc with sound, all too frequently resulting in boomy, uneven bass.
True, you can get away with that to a degree if all you're trying to do is add oomph to movie soundtracks, but a muddy-sounding subwoofer will muddle the sound of music. Some call it "one-note bass," and subwoofers that sound like that bug me.
You don't get to hear much from me on the Podcast for quite awhile, so I'll cut to the chase: Buy the biggest subwoofer you can stand. Or to put it another way, there's no way a 1-foot cube sub will ever outperform a substantially larger, but less expensive, sub (say 15 inches tall by 15 inches wide by 20 inches deep or larger) when it comes to pitch definition and bass clarity. Just want boom? The mini subs will be fine. Want musical bass? Get a bigger sub.
For more from me, check out my own subwoofer setup guide.
Steve Guttenberg is a frequent contributor to magazines and Web sites including Home Entertainment, Playback, and Ultimate AV. He is a member of the CNET Blog Network, and is not an employee of CNET. Disclosure. 
The web site is http://www.rythmikaudio.com. Brian Ding is the owner and his service level and product quality is excellent! There is a lot of information regarding his products and technology on his web site. For extra pitch definition and accuracy you need to go with sealed servo subs. Ported subs produce higher SPLs and may go lower but tend to miss on the controll and accuraccy side of the equation, even servo ones.
Vic
Stepupyourgame...I've heard good things about Behringer feedback destroyer. Have you used it? Thanks.
Obviously this isn't perfectly precise, but the idea is that the acoustical coloring from one place to another should approximately work in reverse.
The alternative is my current setup: speaker wire from stereo output, to input on the sub, then speaker out on the sub to the speakers. This drastically limits the potential length between the sub and the speaker. Plus, I have two wires (four ends) to and from the sub. I have tested just using the one cable, but it's hard to tell if I am really getting the bass I should (or perhaps I just haven't done *enough* testing).
If you use the speaker wire method, you are bypassing the crossover in your receiver, and you are using your sub's crossover. I don't know what kind of gear you have, but generally it's better to handle bass management in the receiver...
The first comment in the blog is dead on. Placement does matter. You might also that 2 subs makes ironing out placement issues much easier. For the record, I'd rather have 2 JL Audio f112's than my current Velodyne 18" subwoofer.
Size does matter. That is true. So does sealed vs. ported, so does dampening, ad infinitum.
M&K used to have some great subs out there. I know they've had some financial troubles which is a shame because they had some cool products.
Def. Tech also has some great speakers and bass performance.
I find that most people have their sub turned up way too high anyhow. I know with my paradigm studio 60's they go pretty low for most stereo music. Rap and R&B can give a sub a good workout though.
I would say that good subwoofers tend to start around $800 though you can get them on the used market for a song. I do have a $3k+ sub, but I picked it up used and have never seen the need to get a newer one. I certainly would like to, but I always find other places to spend my money.
- by justinnjan July 26, 2009 5:41 PM PDT
- Bigger is NOT always better. It depends on many factors. The cabling can be one. Possition is another. And what about watts? I recently went from a 500 watt to a 1000 watt
- Reply to this comment
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(28 Comments)sytem. It was cheaper than my 500 watt, and it sounds like it. I'm not impressed. I've tried
everything to better it, outside of new speakers. I'm broke, and always will be from here on out. My system doesn't have quality control, which I had with my first one. It's all factory induced. That bummed me out. I have to listen to whatever I have at that level. Bummer. I only paid 150.00 for it, but still, at 1000 watts I expected so much more. Like Cops at my door more often. Wonder if I shoud invest in a better quality one, later??? Cops love me!!! LOL. I guess neighbors don't.