We all saw it. The beast. 4 subs in one on that Genelec monster. Is there a room big enough to make it breathe?

So, some people sugest using 2 subs when doing 5.1, one for the bass management, one for the .1 alone. But how do you place them in the room so they don't kill each other or make you head cave in as you walk through the room to get your hands on a GML eq? Together under the desk? on a corner? separated corners? Flush mounted? On the floor? on the ceiling? I'm not even sure about having two on a medium room, but on large rooms you may need more power than a single sub could provide, especially if you're into HipHop...

I'm not Ethan, but IMO...

It is not a matter of one sub or two subs, but enough sub to play the required bandwidth (probably 20-80 Hz) to the required room location (where the engineer sits, at a minimum), at required level (probably 85 dB SPL with 20 dB of headroom) with reasonably flat frequency response, low distortion, etc.

Most rooms of approximately 12,000 cubic feet or below will have placed where certain freqencies will be cancelled or reinforced because of room size, shape, construction, etc., and this will limit subwoofer placement to one or two places in most rooms. You can determine this place through measurement, using fancy gear or your ears.

Rarely can you have too much headroom in a subwoofer, since bass notes require much more power than higher notes. Often, subwoofers can be turned up too much!

Rooms can be designed or treated to reproduce this frequency area well.

Loco,

Doug gave you great advice.

I have only a little experience with subwoofers, and all of it is in my living room home theater using only one, not two.

After trying several cheap and not so cheap models, I ended up with a Carver Sunfire that puts out a huge amount of low end. It's so loud I can't imagine ever needng a second one no matter how large the room. I tried it in a few locations but a front corner was best, just as Carver recommends. Some sub makers tell you not to put them in the corner. So I think the best advice is to try it different places and rely on your ears to know which location sounds best.

--Ethan

Most pro subs have managed inputs and discrete subwoofer (.1) input. The newer Genelecs have LCR LS RS inputs and a sub input. If you have one big enough sub for the room, one should be fine.

Th Sunfire sub that Ethan mentioned is amazing especially if space is a problem. It's only a ittle more than a cubic foot and it produces true notes not like some of the cheaper car audio ones that only generate one tone. It has a lef tand right input so if you're using a separate bass management box you can send the managed sub to one channel and the distcrete sub to the other.

Bill

I also use the Sunfire sub in my home theatre setup. It's really great...hard to believe so much bass can come from such a little box...

dB

I'll have roast beef, turkey, provolone on whole wheat and drag it through the garden...

Oops. Wrong sub.