Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Two Subs at Audioholics

If you haven't gathered by my occasional references to the site, I visit the Audioholics site quite often (that's the site proper, not much for their forum). The newest story is quite interesting. It features subs some of us know; or would like to know. http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/get-good-bass/two-subs

Great article! Now, who wants to lend me one of their subs so I can try this out?

Interesting. I've always wondered if I should have gone with two EP400's instead of one EP500. Verrrry interesting.

I believe the answer is that you should get a second EP500.

Chris, excellent article, again confirming previous studies such as those by Dr. Toole's group. I also check Audioholics frequently and would have seen that in a day or so, but thanks for bringing it to our attention.

Thanks Chris, very informative, now I see the error of my ways, I definitely need a second ep800 to balance out the boominess, I suppose I should have listened and bought two demure 500s but I craved the refrigerator sized 800 (oh wait I forgot about the invisibility cloak, looks like I'll have to wait for technology to improve).

Kind of a biased test though don't you think, based on a previous visit to Axiom Gene stated that he preferred the 500 to the 600 based on form factor/WAF (rather than listening tests), sort of no contest later when he performs "testing" without throwing the 800, much less the 600 that he previously dissed on the basis of form factor, into the mix.

Maybe this on the up and up, maybe audioholics is in the queue to pump the upcoming $999 dual sub 12 inch emo solution out of the gate, hate to say that because I'm tired of my own cynicism yet that would be my guess.

I could add an ep800 to the ep600...hmmm... (tho that'll have to wait for house 2.0)

Yes depends on the size of your room, Jason added an 800 to his 600 and decided he didn't need both, he loves the 800 yet intends to sell the 600 because it doesn't incrementally improve the sound that much in his room.

Of course I'd love to have two because my wife feels the 800 is too boomy, however, after I tame the room response perhaps that will change; right now I'm running it a tad hot for fun, before when she said it sounded like "an earthquake" I swear it was during blu ray playback when most likely it was supposed to sound that way.

Some amount of boominess results from having a sub running too hot to attempt to overcome the missing bass due to nulls. Treating a room and/or adding multiple subs smooths out the overall room response and allows for a more even sound free of booms or missing bass.

Thanks that makes sense, I did perform a subwoofer crawl and placement seemed like the best spot in the room for the sub, e.g., the bass sounds equivalent across all 3 seats on the couch.

I don't think nulls are a major issue, just the fact of having only one sub, oh well . . .

Incorrect placement within the room can also be a cause for boominess, in addition to running them to hot. Many assume corners are always the best location, this is normally not the case. Corner position may give you more output, at the expense of exciting all the room modes.

Ian had a nice video on how multiple subs can improve FR across a listening area vs the sweet spot alone. I had one EP500 and bought a second one after watching the video. The improvement in FR based on SMS-1 sweeps was indeed quite impressive. I am looking forward to the upcoming AS-EQ1, which can run two subs and EQ them independently in the time domain (how long a sound lasts) as well as the amplitude domain (how loud a sound is). It would be cheaper than buying a third or a fourth sub.

Oh, awesome, if you end up getting one, I would be very interested in your thoughts.

If you live close enough to the Toronto/Bowmanville area I can lend you an SVS PC+ 20-39. I need to get my AVR in for service so I'll be running with a stereo receiver for a while anyways.

Bridgman, how long do you expect to be without your AVR? I'll gladly trade you receivers if you still want to enjoy your home theater; my 3801 is overkill for my computer anyway.

You have a 3801 just for your computer!

Yep, running my monitor 9 V2'S, and my sweet spot is about 3 feet (my bed)

Hey, thanks.

I've been procrastinating about getting it fixed for a couple of years and haven't actually talked to anyone yet, but the extended warranty expires soon so I'd better get moving. I'll find out what the expected turnaround time is - it's an HK in Canada so probably has to go to Montreal or something...

The receiver works great but the front panel display, not so much.

I don't need the display, I just set my 3801 to stereo and the volume to -20 and control the volume through my computer.