Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Stereo SW1600 subs

I recently added a second SW1600 sub to my P350W speakers. What an improvement that was.

A single sub would sound good initially for a song or two. But inevitably I would turn it off for music because it sounded boomy. But stereo subs? What an awesome sound: natural, accurate, and strong that you can feel without being at all overpowering or boomy. I never turn them off now.

It took some trial and error with placement before they made any difference. Locating them directly under the main speakers didn't seem to make much difference. They just sounded louder. Bass may be non-directional in that you cannot close your eyes and imagine the sub's location. But location makes a huge difference in sound. My main speakers are about 8' apart in the middle of the room and the subs are 15' apart in the corners of the room. The option to place the subs and main speakers in different locations is a good reason to use separate subs vs full range speakers.

I highly recommend giving stereo subs an audition and spend as much time as necessary experimenting with location. It's worth it.

Rel always advise using the corners, especially when a stereo pair.

I always find I loose spaciousness/air when I don't use a sub, even when I had speakers that went down to 28hz, the sub just doing the very lowest regions, with the sub I could tell how big a room the recording was done in, turn off the sub and you loose that sense of space.

Subs play a huge role in squeezing that last drop out of a system, not saying something like an 8k needs a sub, but I do find it far easier to set a system up with subs in place, and you are not quite as limited in the same way, by that I mean although some 8ft speakers sound awesome in the middle of the room, it can look a bit nerdy to guests who have to peer round them to talk to you after dinner.

I was always told, by a dealer whose client list was rather impressive, that the 1/3rd point of a wall tends to measure best on a waterfall plot. YMMV.

Agree fully with the spaciousness and recreation of the large room sound. Perfect example is Stevie Ray Vaughan hitting an open E through a large tube amp. Ah, the glory of stereo subs properly configured.

The distance from the front to back wall in my room is about 15'. Placing the subs 1/3 into the room equates to a wavelength of 113Hz. When the subs are placed in either corner of the front wall pointed diagonally toward the center listening position, the sound travels 25', which is the wavelength of 45Hz. Plus the fact that the subs are pointing diagonally means that the sound does not bounce back to the center listening position. Obviously this will provide better sounding lower bass. Perhaps that 1/3 from the front wall location guideline applies best to larger rooms.

Anyway, I tried the 1/3 from the front wall location. It sounded loud but not good. It certainly did not look good and was not practical. I am very happy with the subs in the corners.