subwoofer advice for small room

Hi all,
I'm looking to change my current setup which consists of Left/Right Kef Reference 3's, Kef 200c centre speaker and Rel Stentor 2 sub. The reason for this is that this now resides in a small 12ftx12ft SQUARE! room (was previously in a large 15ftx18ft room and sounded fantastic!)and the bass is just TOO overpowering and after lots of tweaking,I cannot seem to get an ideal setup (I get either too much bass or not enough). One problem is have the Kef Ref's with their backs against a wall (This unfortunately is unavoidable!)

I am considering going the sub/sat route, prob M&K of some description. What I really need advice on is whether, considering the size and shape of room, would a couple of small subs (M&K's smaller 8" subs or other makes) would be better than one 12" or 15" sub? Could anyone recommend a sub that work well in small rooms?? I'm looking for something that would provide plenty of slam and depth (doesn't have to go down to 16 hz!!).

Any advice appreciated.

 

Can no-one help??

 

Maybe a dumn question but have you tried setting the fronts to 'small' on your amp? Would this get rid of the problem at all by directing all the base to the REL?

i guess it would b a bit of a waste though having such fine speakers and then noy using to full ability.

By the size of your room I'd guess one of M&Ks medium sized subs would be easy enough to set up as opposed to 2 smaller ones. some members have multiple sub set u but i believe they are more difficult to set up than single sub. M&K subs are generally pretty small yet kick out prodigious base for their size.

You could also look at the B&W ASW675 which is pretty small.

BTW what would be wrong with keeping yor existing REL and partnering with a set of M&Ks?

Chris

 

It could be that the room is now causing major peaks and troughs which may be the reason you find it overpowering.
If you have an SPL meter, run a sweep of tones from 16Hz to 80Hz to see if the are any peaks (ie 15Db above norm).
If you do have peaks you might want to invest in a BFD to help give you a flatter response. It would be cheaper than an new sub.

 

I had the Ref 2s, Ref 1s on surround, 200c and a Velodyne CHT 15 in an almost identical room and got on great with it.

If you haven't already, turn the Ref bass tuning screw to min on each speaker to cut off their bass response.

My set up was, all bass at 80Hz to sub from my proc. with the CHT 15 set at a very low level. Worked fine. Had it at 60Hz for a while but went back to 80Hz. The Velodyne was a forward firing sub though and that may have made a substantial difference.

It would be a crime to change the KEFs if there was no need.

Having said that, many people praise M&K so they're worth a listen. I've never owned high quality mini monitors in the past so I can't advise on them myself.

Good luck.

 

Hi Chris, Have already tried setting speakers to small and all bass to sub, but still don't seem to get good bass, especially with music, if I set the speakers to full range the is a definate difference in bass (although a bit overpowering). It just doesn't seem to work as well setting them to small as they do to large(except for the overpowering bass). No reason why I couldn't keep the Rel if I decide to change the Kef's, just thinking it might all blend together better by keeping the sub in the same family, so to speak.

Ryan, have tried what you suggested a few days back and there are definate peaks coming from the sub and main speakers. Will probably invest in a BFD, but would like to do so when if decided to change speakers or not.

General Skanky, Yes it would be a shame to get rid of the Kef's although they are designed for large rooms, and when listening to music, they sound, well.. boxed in, which they are! (Unable to move them due to room layout). I just feel that going for a sat/sub system, primarilly designed for small rooms would sound better (maybe I'm wrong). By the way, what screw on the speakers are you refering to? On mine, it's a sort of cap behing the binding posts which you invert to lessen the bass (not sure if it actually does anything though).

 

I'd put money on it being a problem with resonant modes in your room. The bass peaks will completely cloud detail in other parts of the lower frequency range. Most commonly you'll find a huge lump in the mid bass - with it flattened out, you should get a far greater sensation of depth and clarity from the sub.

You don't use an HTPC do you? There are some pretty inexpensive (read "free") ways of experimenting with digital room correction if you do. If not get a BFD - I'd do that before you decide whether to change speakers. You'll definitely want to use it even if you do.

MuFu.

 

By the way, what screw on the speakers are you refering to? On mine, it's a sort of cap behing the binding posts which you invert to lessen the bass (not sure if it actually does anything though).


That's the one. It 'should' lessen bass output. Mine did.

 

Mufu,
what i'm trying to get at is the main speakers are desinged to have free space around them. Now they are currently located right up against a corner, hence the bass is augmented somewhat. Setting the mains to "small" on my processor (80hz) and the sub to the same (80hz) or full and dials on the sub for the crossover to max (i.e highest crossover point), there appears to be a definate lack of bass between midband and what the sub outputs. When setting speakers to fullrange on processor, the missing bass appears, albeit too much (because they are located in the corner). That's why I think going for sat/sub route would be the best choice??

 

Hi David
I had the same problem as you with my monitor audio silver speakers which were placed either side my tv in the corner they got to sound boomy with music at loud volumes, never had a problem with the sub though.I then changed to m&k speakers and now dont suffer any boominess at all and they sound great.What you need to do is try and get a home demo i think sevenoaks sell m&k you can then get a much better idea of them without shelling out any cash.
Cheers Gonzo.