1 or 2 subwoofer? On 5.1, 5x4m room

jonnyp1993

jonnyp1993

jonnyp1993

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Question is, 1 or 2 subwoofers?

I'm using a onkyo sr608 7.2 receiver
Speaker setup is this

Front - whardfale valdus 500 tall boys
Centre - Eltax 80watt speaker (due to upgrade to a wharfdale diamond, just cant decide which one!)
Rear - wharfdale valdus 100
Subwoofer - Yamaha sw315 80watt rms, 8" active, facedown sub.

I like to be able to feel the bass when watching movies, now dont get me wrong, it sounds awesome, but depending where you sit, it feels and sounds different, so would getting another subwoofer fix that problem ?

Iv no chance of getting another Yamaha sw315 as they dont come up for sale very often in the UK.

If I was to upgrade to 2, would getting 2 powerful ones be better or 2 good average ones ?

Sorry for the long essay :)

Thanks in advanced, if iv missed anything please let me know !

**edit**

My room is 5x4m, TV on opposite wall to seating 5m away
 
Just replace that "subwoofer" with a real one

Don't waste your time with two low end subs a single high quality one will outclass those two yamaha subs.

If you think the Yamaha sub is "awesome" try something like a single bk monolith or svs pb 2000
 
hornetstinger said:
Just replace that "subwoofer" with a real one

Don't waste your time with two low end subs a single high quality one will outclass those two yamaha subs.

If you think the Yamaha sub is "awesome" try something like a single bk monolith or svs pb 2000
Click to expand...

To me the Yamaha sounds good, it does what it's meant to do. My question is, to give that better quality sound, would 1 or 2 be better, either been 2 high end or 2 average ones.


I'll look into the monolith and PB 2000. Thanks
 
hornetstinger said:
Just replace that "subwoofer" with a real one

Don't waste your time with two low end subs a single high quality one will outclass those two yamaha subs.

If you think the Yamaha sub is "awesome" try something like a single bk monolith or svs pb 2000
Click to expand...
Definitely this. You only need 1 'proper' sub. I have an old Velodyne sub and can only turn it up to around 3/10.
 
jonnyp1993 said:
To me the Yamaha sounds good, it does what it's meant to do. My question is, to give that better quality sound, would 1 or 2 be better, either been 2 high end or 2 average ones.


I'll look into the monolith and PB 2000. Thanks
Click to expand...

To answer your question directly; two high-end subs are better than one high-end sub, which in turn is better that two average/mediocre subs.

Your Yamaha specs and model numbers appear to be a bit muddled. The SW315 is a 10" sub rather than 8". The power you quote is correct - 80W. They claim it gets down to 20Hz, but that's at -10dB which makes the sound at 20Hz far too quiet to be of much use. The SW215 is the 8" model. That has marginally more power (95W) but only gets to 28Hz @ -10dB.

The reason for two subs is that it produces a more even spread of bass across a wider range of seating positions, but there are some caveats. The main issue is that you can't just chuck two subs in the same room and expect to blend them, especially not if the amp doesn't EQ one sub let alone two.

The justification for one good sub over two mediocre is how deep the larger driver in a single sub could go, and the extra power that the amplifier might put out. If we take the SW315s as an example and, to make it a fair comparison, we the new prices rather than used, then two SW315s would tip in at around £600. Comparing that to the BK P12-300PR - a 12" sealed sub with 300W RMS power for £449 - this will go deeper (20Hz or lower at -3dB) and a lot louder, plus it with sound far more controlled in it's ability to define bass notes and start and stop very cleanly. An SVS PB2000 will pull off a similar trick, albeit for about double the BK price.

Used product prices (residual values) reflect the performance and desirability of a product as much as its age and condition. A couple of recent Ebay sales pitched the SW315 at around £65 to £95 used and in decent condition. By contrast, the 10" BK Gemini with a woodgrain veneer finish and 150W RMS for £225-£240 retail will fetch around £150 in the used market: Better product, cheaper retail price, yet higher retained value.
 
lucid said:
To answer your question directly; two high-end subs are better than one high-end sub, which in turn is better that two average/mediocre subs.

Your Yamaha specs and model numbers appear to be a bit muddled. The SW315 is a 10" sub rather than 8". The power you quote is correct - 80W. They claim it gets down to 20Hz, but that's at -10dB which makes the sound at 20Hz far too quiet to be of much use. The SW215 is the 8" model. That has marginally more power (95W) but only gets to 28Hz @ -10dB.

The reason for two subs is that it produces a more even spread of bass across a wider range of seating positions, but there are some caveats. The main issue is that you can't just chuck two subs in the same room and expect to blend them, especially not if the amp doesn't EQ one sub let alone two.

The justification for one good sub over two mediocre is how deep the larger driver in a single sub could go, and the extra power that the amplifier might put out. If we take the SW315s as an example and, to make it a fair comparison, we the new prices rather than used, then two SW315s would tip in at around £600. Comparing that to the BK P12-300PR - a 12" sealed sub with 300W RMS power for £449 - this will go deeper (20Hz or lower at -3dB) and a lot louder, plus it with sound far more controlled in it's ability to define bass notes and start and stop very cleanly. An SVS PB2000 will pull off a similar trick, albeit for about double the BK price.

Used product prices (residual values) reflect the performance and desirability of a product as much as its age and condition. A couple of recent Ebay sales pitched the SW315 at around £65 to £95 used and in decent condition. By contrast, the 10" BK Gemini with a woodgrain veneer finish and 150W RMS for £225-£240 retail will fetch around £150 in the used market: Better product, cheaper retail price, yet higher retained value.
Click to expand...

My bad, I meant 10", what you've said makes sense, thank you :)

I am going to look at getting 1 decent sub, all just depends on my budget i guess!

Thanks for all the info, it's really helped :)
 
I have a BK Gemini II in my 8m x 6m kitchen and if you turn it up you can ‘feel’ the bass. Normally I dial it back as it’s only there to provide some bottom end for my MA C165s. I paid £150 for my Gemini II second hand. Worth every penny.
 
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