Daisy chaining subs- Pros/Cons?

Finally got my 2nd BF 210 sub. Was originally planning on running them as a stereo pair in my Family/Listening Room (left and right mid side walls). However, that wasn't really acceptable for WAF/aesthetics, though probably ideal for acoustics. Alternatively, I've placed them both behind my sofa, ~ 6 ft apart, straddling the sweet spot. However, that means I have to run cables under the rug to the middle rear of room. To minimize the "rug bump" I'm running just a single pair of cables to one sub, and "daisy chaining" the other with a single cable from the Multi Out of the "Master" to LFE/Multi In for the "Slave." That means they're functioning as Dual Mono subs, but still sound pretty good at first blush. I need to wait 50+ hours for the 2nd sub to break in before running PBK (when "Daisy Chained" will measure/correct both subs simultaneously).

In the meantime, I'm curious if anybody has compared the audible effects of "daisy chaining" vs. running separate L/R cable sets to each sub (and then running PBK separately for each). I'd need to get another 20 foot cable set plus Y-connectors, and also create another "rug bump" if I went this route. With the custom downloaded profile, they probably cross over to the Summits at <50 Hz, so I presume I'm not really losing anything significant.

Thoughts?

How'bout reducing the 'rug bump' with these flat cables from Goertz:
Goertz MI Speaker Cables

Good Luck,
Spike

Spike said:

How'bout reducing the 'rug bump' with these flat cables from Goertz:
Goertz MI Speaker Cables

Good Luck,
Spike

Click to expand...

I would actually need flat subwoofer cable (not speaker cables). Only one's I found are these... http://images2.cableorganizer.com/flatwire/audio-cables/1lane-composite-cable-only-lg.jpg, but they need bulky terminations (sold separately) and the cables aren't well shielded. I'm actually able to run the single set of cables adjacent to the rug pad edge, so it's not too bad, just no room for a 2nd set of cables.

Another option could be to use the 2.4 GHz ML SWT-2 wireless transmitter (https://www.martinlogan.com/dynamo/swt-2.php) but I'm concerned there'd be too much interference from our wireless phones and home wi-fi, not to mention ?? latency/loss of fidelity.

I'll wait to see how the Dual Mono subs measure with my XTZ Room Analyzer after applying the PBK.

Keep both subs on the mono channel. There's no real point to running subs stereo IMO especially since you lose all the benefits of multiple subs smoothing out FR, the combined sum working less hard for the same SPL, and overall lower distortion.

|Tch0rT| said:

Keep both subs on the mono channel. There's no real point to running subs stereo IMO especially since you lose all the benefits of multiple subs smoothing out FR, the combined sum working less hard for the same SPL, and overall lower distortion.

Click to expand...

2x agree.

Also, speaker cables can most certainly be used for subs. I would worry more about the other way around.

sleepysurf: I have used until recently Nordost base line for the subs and they worked really well. Shawn has them up for sale one is just a 2M but the other is around 12M if memory servers me right. These are real flat and should disappear nicely. Maybe both sets will work with your daisy chain approach. Let me know if interested.

GW1800 said:

sleepysurf: I have used until recently Nordost base line for the subs and they worked really well. Shawn has them up for sale one is just a 2M but the other is around 12M if memory servers me right. These are real flat and should disappear nicely. Maybe both sets will work with your daisy chain approach. Let me know if interested.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I'm going with the Dual Mono approach for now. Once the new sub is fully broken in, I'll run PBK, and then XTZ Room Analyzer to see what's happening with bass at the sweet spot. I'll post the measurements here.

I'm actually running Blue Jeans LC-1 subwoofer cables from my C-J preamp RCA outs. Fortunately, I was able to minimize the "rug bump" by leaving a 1/2" gap between the rug and underlying pad. The rug pad is almost the same diameter as the cables, so the cables are now virtually undetectable (except for a corner which required a gradual 90 degree turn). Even passed the WBF ("wife's bare feet") test!

Nice but then why ask for help with the cables?

GW1800 said:

Nice but then why ask for help with the cables?

Click to expand...

When I initially posted, I hadn't thought about running cables at the perimeter of the rug, adjacent to the pad, so I no longer need flat cables.

Thus far, the dual mono setup sounds great. I'm now experimenting with the Summit woofer controls. I've dialed down the 25 and 50 Hz settings to -10 dB, and running the corresponding custom filters, so the subs fill in most of the lower bass. This is already much better than my old configuration (Summits running full range with a single BF210), even before running PBK. Looks like adding a 2nd BF 210 sub, and re-positioning both, is the most "bang for the buck" upgrade for my system to date. In fact, I've (almost) stopped drooling over the new Renaissance ESL!

system

Nice system Sleepy,
for a second there till I scrolled down further I thought the musicians were real!