| Re: To sub or not to sub
I am experimenting with 2 passive sealed 15" subs sitting directly behind and below my main bookshelf speakers which are on stands. I use a Paradigm X-30 subwoofer crossover to divide the pre-outs from my receiver between my sub and main amps. The mains are flat to 45 Hz, and I have the X-over set to 75Hz.
The CARA ray tracing software told me this should be a pretty good setup. After smoothing out the lumps with BFD, both REW and my ears can attest to the benefits of adding the subwoofers. The sound is now richer, fuller and even more dynamic than my mains could offer by themselves.
I enjoy a wide range of music, but I mostly listen to jazz and classical. For 2 channel sound I don't need nor want a lot of heavy-handed bass (I have an SVS in the rear corner for HT), but do want to hear the full range and impact of sound as recorded on my CDs. These subs do that in spades by provide the lower end support that has been missing from my mains. They are a great addition to my system.
Based on what has been posted, I am going to try setting the X-over lower, maybe down to 60 HZ or 50 Hz and see what I get. Since the subs are about 66” apart, they mutually resonate from about 50 Hz on down, so a 50 Hz X-over point might be best.
At 18 db per octave, the X-30 has a fairly shallow roll-off. Eventually I want to try a Linkwist-Riley 2-way X-over and see how the subs sound in stereo. The Linkwist-Riley alignment will provide phase coherence across the X-over point, but the BFD will probably mess with that. At any rate, the steeper roll-off should make it easier to balance the subs and the main speakers.
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