"Erik Squires" wrote in message
vers.com...
Ok, here's my first barage.

People who buy subwoofers purely on spec, or reviews of the subwoofer are
completely screwed. The only simple way to evaluate a subwoofer for YOU
is
to put it in your room.(*)


That's true for any speaker, however if the manufacturer gives honest spect
or you have a review that has properly evaluated the sub, it can be very
useful.

The fact is as Tom Nousaine has discovered there is really one best place in
most rooms for a subwoofer to go, in the corner.

Companies that don't give youspecs on how loud the sub will play the lowest
frequencies are to be avoided IMO.

Those like Adire who give you the Dumax specs are giving you really usable
information.

My own 12" driver I purchased through them has lived up to it's specs and
the box design info they provide. They also have finished subs that use the
same drivers and I would recomend them in a heartbeat.

The problem affecting most people in their rooms is that there is usually a
big bum in response around 50 Hz or so that has to be dealt with one way or
another. Having separate low and high pass adjustability or some sort of
EQ, either passive or active, will ususally do the trick.



The reason for this is that subwoofers, more than any other component, are
most subject to the effects of the room they are on.


No more than full range speakers IME.

75% of the sound of a subwoofer is really the sound of your room and the
placement of the subwoofer in the room. Only a small amount of the
quality
of the perceived sound with a subwoofer has to do with the subwoofer
itself.

And you base this conclusion on what?

One of the worst mistakes that consumers make, IMHO, is to look for the
"best" subwoofer they can afford, without knowing how that subwoofer will
work in their room. That is, the "best" subwoofer in the world, can sound
like bird poop hitting a car roof in the wrong room. An "average"
subwoofer, hundreds if not thousands of dollars less, which matches the
room, can evoke the fear of God and the joys of spiritual and physical
ecstasy.

Which is why you don't buy things like that without the ability to audition
themn in your room.

A room with very pronounced 20 Hz resonances due to room dimensions really
would benefit from a smaller sub, one with a cut off at 40 Hz and 4th
order
high pass response there, allowing the user to hear ALL of the bass, from
the satellite speakers on down, not just the room resonances. But in this
SUV world, no one really wants to hear that. More more more, that's what
we want, to reach perfection via the credit card instead of self
exploration, or self knowledge. When we can purchase another 0.01% lower
distortion figure. then we know we are on the path of virtue and truth.
Bleah.


Some people care more and will explore the proper set up and specs to
achieve their own audio heaven some, probable most won't, unless they have
some direction from the manufacturer.

I'd be interested in what shape and size rooms you beleive affect the sound
of a sub in the way you describe. What room would cut off the bass at 40
HZ?

(*) There are other ways to evaluate the sound of a room, and the match of
a
speaker in it, but this involves tools usually reserved for architectural
acousticians, and implies that you have an accurate model of your room, as
well as an accurate model of the subwoofer being considered, which except
for professional speakers, is a rare thing indeed.

There are ways and means to adjust for best response that can be
accomplished without hireing a professional, but it takes some research or
explanation by the manufacturer.