I just completed a new addition (family room) in my home. In it, I plan to have my home theater set up on one end, and on the other end, a bar/lounge area.
The room is approx. 14.5 feet x 39 feet (565 sq. ft), long and rectangular. It has cathedral ceilings and tile (no rug or sound absorption). For speakers, I have a Niles system containing 2 in-wall speakers, a center in-wall speaker and 2 in-ceiling speakers for the "theater portion" of the room. By the bar (the other end), I will have only 2 in-ceiling speakers on a separate channel.
My fear is that the bass frequency will get lost in such a big area if I set the sub woofer on the side of the wall where the front speakers (and TV) will be. Do I need another sub woofer by the bar area as well? I think the distance of cables would also kill the performance of an additional sub woofer across the other end of the room.
What advice do you all have for such a large room, and the concern of losing the bass for reverberation and other factors?
2 subs are a great option. Especially if you are experiencing situations where parts of the room seem to have no bass. Standing waves are areas where this occurs and all subs produce them regardless of the bright bouncy room. There are some easy ways to determine whether or not you need 2 subs. One, buy a cheap dbl meter at Radioshack and a audio test disc. Set the test disc to a Bass frequency and measure the amplitude with the meter (buy the one with the needle, not the digital meter). Measure the amplitude at every corner, and at the sitting areas at the C setting. You will be suprised the differences in volume. One big sub will produce the same result, so the answer is another sub. Another sub, usually in the rear of the room, will break up the standing waves where the volume drops out. It will make huge differences in the bass in the room. If you are having issues determing the best location for the subs, try this little trick. Place the sub where you sit and using the same meter walk around the room again. The area where you get the highest amplitude is the best placement for your sub. Granted that might not be the best location visually. Also try placing the sub in the corners of your room. Every surface you touch you will gain +3dB in volume. 9dB total is perceived as double the volume. Give it a try.
putting a sub in the middle of a room is a lost cause.. any set up manual will tell you to put your sub next to a wall, or even in a corner, it uses the walls to project the bass.. the bass will indeed be lost if you were to put a sub in the middle of the room.. i actually have a bit of a problem with my bass.. i have a small apartment, and in the living room, the bass varies dending on where i am.. i have the sub up next to the wall, and if i'm sitting in the middle of the room, no deep bass feeling, but if i'm near any of the walls in the living room, the bass is rich and deep.. normal?
Chris, that is very normal...and you misunderstood my "sub in the middle of the room" comment. You don't leave it, you put it there for testing purposes. To find the best position in the room for your sub, you put the sub where you sit normally. For example, like you said the sub volume changes in level of intensity in different areas of the room, that is precisely why you are placing the sub where you sit dureing testing. Plus they are too heavy to keep trying different spots in the room. At that point, walking around and listening will prove the best spot the sub should be placed. You then want to move the sub to the are that the sub wave hit the spot where you sat the sub during testing (hopefully that was your favorite seat. Its also a great reason for 2 subs. If you don't have the option based on your floor space try the sub method described above it works really well.