Question Closed or ported sub for nearfield placement?

pepelugil

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Hello,

I'm going to buy a second sub to even some dips I have in my non dedicated 6x11 m2 room, but even been so big, the only location where I'll be able to install the new sub is just behind the sofa.

In that scenario, is still recommended to buy a ported sub to fill my big room, or been it so close to the listening area is not so important and even a closed sub could give better results?

I'll use it for movies, no music at all, and my current sub is a BK Monolith DF placed in the left front corner of the room.

Thanks
 
Have you looked at something like REW's Room Simulator to get an idea whether the placement you have in mind is likely to be beneficial or not? Unless your room is not rectangular in which case simple simulators won't be too much use.

If you have a means of measuring your sub response then looking at the curves of your current sub in it's present position and the proposed new location would help you get an idea whether the second sub will help to even out the dips you have in mind or not.

My gut reaction if you get a second sub is to get another Monolith. The potential downside of nearfield placement is if there was any port noise then you'd be more likely to hear it. I don't think this is a concern with Monolith's though. You could just listen close to your current sub to find out actually. And bear in mind that with two subs the sound level leaving each one will be about half what it is now.
 
Yes, I've used REW's Room Simulator to have an idea (although my room isn't rectangular, has vaulted ceiling and it's opened in one end with stairs going down) and playing with 2nd sub delay it seems than I should be able to flaten my dips.

I only have the Dirac measuremts from the current position with Arcam's v1 mic (I will also buy an Umik), my sub cable is short to move my Monolith to the position where new sub will be, but I could buy a cheap one just to test it. What should I do then in order to extrapolate how 2 subs will sound together?

Dirac measurements for Monolith at it's current position:
685592ccb27dd599613296e4343c6a43o.png
 
Is that Dirac graph showing combined data from multiple microphone locations?

You need the second sub position to not have dips at the same frequencies to be useful for helping to reduce these.

You'll get the benefit of increased headroom / less distortion at the same volume no matter where the second sub is place though.
 
Yes, dark cyan is the spread measurements from 9 mic locations across listening positions and the light line is the average measurement used for Dirac's correction.

It's usually recommended to use the same sub for multisubs configs, but I've also seen people happy with two different subs, that's why I asked for advise between closed or ported in nearfield location.

Thanks
 
People do blend different subs but I understand the general advice to be:
- same model from same vendor
- different model from same vendor (the key here is keeping the sound signature the same, usually from the driver manufacturer and on-board DSP)
- different vendor but same style (sealed or ported)
- same vendor but different style (so one sealed and one ported)
- different vendor and different style

Once you've gone to a different style of sub the the manufacturer matters less. Ideally you'd have the same drivers in each, but the sound signature and characteristics are more determined by the ported vs sealed nature.

You can get a sealed and a ported working together but apparently it's hard and requires a lot of time and dedication.

I had two sealed subs of different manufacturers working well together for a while, if that helps.
 

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