ARCHIVED FORUM -- March 2012 to February 2022READ ONLY FORUM
This is the second Archived Forum which was active between 1st March 2012 and 23rd February 2022
Yesterday, I added a 2nd Beolab 2 subwoofer to my BeoSystem 3 7.1 surround sound setup, bumping it up to 7.2. I know....purists will say that there is no TRUE 7.2 surround sound since there is no media to support 2 distinctly separate subwoofer channels. Still, this is what B&O described it as in the BeoSystem 3 promotions.
I'm using BeoLab 8000s as the fronts, BeoLab 8000s as the surrounds, and Beolab 6000s as the rears. I placed one subwoofer between the left front BeoLab 8000 and the BeoLab 10 center and placed the second subwoofer in front of the right BeoLab 8000 surround speaker somewhat toward the back the room. I vaguely remember seeing recommendations for placement of two subwoofers in a B&O manual somewhere but have been unable to find it. Any suggestions for placement would be welcome.
I found it unfortunate that the BeoSystem 3 does not allowing all of the PowerLink sockets to be freely configurable. The only way to add a 2nd subwoofer to the BeoSystem 3 is by using a PowerLink Y-splitter with the single dedicated subwoofer socket. This gives us less control over the details of the configuration. For example, we cannot assign a BeoLab 11 for the standard mode to benefit music while using a BeoLab 2 in cinema mode to benefit movies. As I understand, the new BeoSystem 4 gives us much more control here. In the setup menu of the BeoSystem 3, there ARE options to indicate if the subwoofers are used in a Left & Right configuration or a Front & Rear configuration. However, I can't see how it would make any difference in the setup menu since both subwoofers are connected to the same socket to use the same LFE channel. An explanation form Geoff Martin here would be great. I think that the new BeoLab 19 CAN take advantage of using a left speaker or right speaker option on the power link cable. However, there is no option to indicate that a subwoofer is a BeoLab 19 (or a BeoLab 11) speaker in the BeoSystem 3 setup menu, the software of which was just updated a couple of months ago.
I was surprised to find that adding a second subwoofer did not really make the sound from the movie much louder. Rather, it seemed to make the sound more balanced and more detailed. Before adding the second subwoofer, I often felt that voice from the center channel would get rather muddled and difficult to hear. With the second subwoofer added, the center channel seemed clearer. Could this be my imagination? Your opinions here, Geoff? I've read that the human ear really can't discern the location of the subwoofer. However, I'm now wondering if this is entirely true. Adding the second subwoofer in a different location seemed to make the subwoofers blend in to the sound field much better.
I would love to hear other people's opinions.
Moving a subwoofer changes its distance from the surrounding walls and therfore alters how it excites the room and where the peaks and troughs of any standing waves created occur within the room space.
I would think it is this that you're hearing rather than any directionality.
I would concentrate on finding the correct/best positon of a single subwoofer rather than adding a second.
Ban boring signatures!
As noted in Sound & Vision magazine. theoretically, multiple subwoofers help spread out the room resonances. See below.
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/whats-better-one-subwoofer-or-two
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/subwoofers-4-2-or-1-0
A recent "subwoofer manufacturer symposium" in Sound & Vision suggested that if you have a pre-amp that adjusts for in-room frequency response (such as Audyssey), put the subwoofer in the corner of the room to accentuate all room resonances. The pre-amp software can then cut the frequencies as needed to get relatively flat response at the listening position.