Originally Posted by Gianni
For most of us a subwoofer is a means of getting some deep bass in a domestic environment at reasonable cost and some compromise. For those of us who can afford five (!) subs, surely it makes sense to place them adjacent to the speakers they support then manage the room modes with some form of correction rather than displace them and then have to manage phase and timing anomolies as well as the room modes?

I think this is an argument for five full range speakers for optimum phase and timing performance (my Sys 1) rather than 5 small speakers and a sub for optimum room usability (my Sys 2).

I've tried many combinations/permutations of subs with my main Genesis speakers, including crossover points from 80 hz. down to 30 hz., as well as running the mains full range and 'bass doubling' with multiple subs. I never could get things to sound right with crossover points above 40 hz., nor did placing the subs in close proximity to the mains work either. So, I ended up crossing the bass from all channels to a single mono sub (sub #1) at 30 hz. located in a somewhat 'traditional' front corner. The remaining subs were then daisy-chained to the mono sub channel and located in different places in the room based on a long period of experimenting with location, phase and output level. In my room, location ended with sub #2 on top of sub #1, sub #3 in the rear, diagonal corner, and subs #4 and 5 stacked along the left side wall. Further complicating things is that three of the subs are sealed, one is ported and one is a folded horn. I don't doubt that five may be overkill and that removal of one, or even two, would make little difference, however, since things finally sound great in the low bass, I see no reason to muck around with things.

My Kit: 861v8+ID41, 800v4, UHD722, MD600, MS600, MS200, Oppo BDP-203, Genesis 201, Genesis 350 SE, Genesis S4-8 Sub, BG 520i, VTL MB450 II, Krell Showcase 7, Genesis 928 Subs, Danley DTS10 sub, SVS Ultra 16 subs.