I want one too.

[yourgrandma]

My bass response is diplorable, and while I plan to build some traps and continue treating my room for it's innumerable deficiancies, I'd like to try out this fancyness.

A couple questions though.

I have three separate subs. One in each main and a standalone sub. I wonder if it is possible to equalize the subs in my towers apart from the separate sub. I think this would be quite helpful. Perhaps calibrate the two setups separately and then together to et the best outcome?

The BFD does have two ins and outs, right? And are they independently controlled so one could equalize two systems differently?

Thanks guys, I've been struggling with this bass problem for years, and I can't see this hurting.

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

My bass response is diplorable,
I have three separate subs. One in each main and a standalone sub

That may be part of the problem. More oft than not multiple low frequency sources can make a mess of bass response, especially if they are not co-located, and if they are not all identical.

I wonder if it is possible to equalize the subs in my towers apart from the separate sub.

Only if you have line-level access to them, so that you could insert the equalizer in the signal chain.

The BFD does have two ins and outs, right? And are they independently controlled so one could equalize two systems differently?

That is correct.

In your situation I’d try setting the mains to small and using only the standalone sub, assuming that it is a capable one.

Regards,
Wayne

[yourgrandma]

Thanks Wayne,
I have tried running only the sub, but things don't improve greatly. It, being a Klipsch RSW-10, would surely have good output in a similar sized room with halfway decent accoustics. The subs in the speakers (DefTech PT400's) are equipped with LFE inputs and have volume controls. They also had amazing output and played quite low in my old house.

The problem I would have with setting the mains to small is that I have my crossover set to 100hz because all my other speakers seem to get a little "honky" in the midrange (no doubt another result of horrendous accoustics) and the PT's sound great all over. I would also really hate to send all that upper bass to any sub. Even Xed at 80, it seems like a lot to ask of it. If I had things my way, Id like to be able to send frequencies 100hz and down to the mains, and 50hz and down to the sub. but of course I don't have the requisite electronics for that. Without getting a processor that would let me do different crossover frequencies for different speakers, I haven't been able to justify setting the mains to small. I have tried it, and there wasn't any gain that I could percieve. I would have a pretty had time essentially sawing off and throwing away the bottom half of my speakers.

Now that that's off my chest, is there a recommended prosedure for integrating speakers with good bass capabilities into a system with a sub? I would guess it would take variable phasing on every sub, right? I'd love to do that, if someone knew of a way it could be done.

But anyway, back to BFD, does anyone use it for full range EQing? Like say between an amp and preamp, or even between a specific source and the pre or receiver? Or is this something better left to high end gear?

[Otto]

Hi Randy,

I used to have a similar setup (DT BP2002TLs as mains, and then a separate 2x12 box sub). I played around with different EQ methods quite a bit. At one point, I even EQd my DTs as full-range mains, and each one separately for its specific location such that each speaker had a flat FR. To do that, I actually needed two BFDs. One channel each for the mains, and a third channel for the other sub. Anyway, I was able to get good results doing that, but I was also able to get good results EQing all three together as one (thereby only using one channel of one BFD). If I were you, I'd probably go that route first. If you are currently sending the LFE/sub out signal to all three via splitters already, it'll be super easy. Once you get that going, you can always go to the next step by EQing each individually or whatever. I think you'll like the result from the beginning, though. If not, the REW/BFD combo offers literally endless hours of tweaking, if you wish.

I currently use relatively full-range mains (no built-in subs, and I think they're at -1 dB at 30Hz). I allow them to run full range for stereo listening. I tweaked the BFD by hand with the help of REW to get the sub (a single IB, at this point). I simply played a 15 to 200 Hz sweep, and integrated the sub with the full-range mains by hand. My FR for music is pretty flat. For movies, I apply a crossover, and I did something similar. REW is pretty good on its own, though, and I would expect that most people will get an improved FR right off the bat by using REW's suggested filters (after measuring your FR, of course).

As to people using the BFD for full-range EQ -- I'm sure some poeple do, but it's generally not suggested because of the relatively poor specs of the BFD (the 2496 is better) and the difficulty in getting good full-range measurements. It's certainly within the technical function of the device, but most of us just use it for sub EQ duty only.

[yourgrandma]

Wow, see I knew someone had to have done it. I don't use the lfe inputs on my mains. I tried it and It didn't do much, so I went back to normal. If it meant I could better make use of them and a BFD, I'd have no problem doing it.

I'm going to get rolling on REW as soon as I switch audio devices (sound card is all digital) and get a bunch of adapters and splitters. Then the world can see just how aweful my bass really is. Hopefully on monday I'll be able to make some measurements.

Thanks a lot, Otto, that is exactly what I was talking about. Hopefully I can attain as good of results as you.