The Stereo Subs Project

[Stereo-head]

Randy thanks for the very interesting read...it gave me a clear picture of how to go about it when I decide to go for two subs. Thanks!

[chessman]

Originally Posted by Stereohead

Randy thanks for the very interesting read...it gave me a clear picture of how to go about it when I decide to go for two subs. Thanks!

You are welcome! I can't believe I waited so long to do this. The "specs" said this would be a minimal gain. And I had trouble imagining how it could get better because it already sounded great. Guess I need a better imagination because it has been a significant improvement.

[Pyro]

Interesting journey Randy, thanks for sharing.

[Rod#S]

Originally Posted by chessman

Thus far this thread has been about using "stereo" subs for music only. I have been beyond happy with the improvement to the two channel experience.

Of course, one sub matched to each of the right and left main signals (via the magnificent Bryston 10B-Sub) meant that I had no sub at all receiving the LFE signal for Home Theater. Of course the Bryston would have allowed one sub to supplement both mains leaving the other for LFE duty, but I was too in love with the smooth frequency response of two subs for music to do that. So, I bought a third JL Audio F113 to use for the LFE signal.

The current lineup, then, is one F113 for the left, one F113 for the right, and one F113 for LFE only. Thus, it is stereo subs (i.e., only two) for music and three subs for HT (i.e., mains run as large, the other five speakers as small, with two subs helping the mains run as full range and the third as LFE).

Setup was much easier than expected. I ran the onboard ARO on the F113, placed it at the same distance from the listening position as the other two (but at 90 degrees to them), consequently left relative phase at zero, used the Oppo for movie bass management (crossed at 80 H), used the Emotiva for TV bass management (crossed at 80 H), disabled the LP filter on the F113 and I was good to go. I am not using the SMS-1 at all in the signal path, nor did I use it for this set up.

Today I watched all or part of J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek," "Transformers," "Master and Commander," "Open Range," and the Ohio State basketball game. I have been sitting here with a silly grin on my face because it sounds so awesome!!

I'm glad you are enjoying what multiple subs bring to the experience. With my Lexicon MC-12B I have been running a stereo subs plus dedicated LFE setup for years now and it is just wonderful. One noteable difference I see between my setup and yours is that my mains are always crossed over unless I switch to analog bypass for listening to SACD, DVD-A and Blu-ray Audio which sets all speakers to large for that matter. The LFE sub remains in the signal path for all .1 content but the stereo subs do not receive any signal. I typically only occasionally engage bypass for stereo sources because my center speaker isn't really a full range speaker and I'm nervous it might be damaged due to the dynamic range of music on SACD, DVD-A and Blu-ray Audio.