Tuning a Descent i sub advice needed

[Craig]

I recently bought a Depth i after living without a sub for at least 3-4 years. And the one I had back then wasn't all that great. I have little experience with trying to tune a sub as far as settings go. It sounds great but I'm doubt I have it set to perform optimally.

I've been moving it back in forth between my HT and 2 Channel System that has Summits. It does as an extra element but I find the proper setting on the 2 channel system is less forgiving than the HT system.

I decided to go for it and I'm trading Depth i for the Descent i. It will be interesting to see how they compare but I haven't really had the Depth i long enough to know what it's fully capable of.

Have you found the tuning procedures in the manual to be a good starting point? Any tips for tuning a sub in a 2 channel system are welcome.

 

[C.A.P]

I recently bought a Depth i after living without a sub for at least 3-4 years. And the one I had back then wasn't all that great. I have little experience with trying to tune a sub as far as settings go. It sounds great but I'm doubt I have it set to perform optimally.

I've been moving it back in forth between my HT and 2 Channel System that has Summits. It does as an extra element but I find the proper setting on the 2 channel system is less forgiving than the HT system.

I decided to go for it and I'm trading Depth i for the Descent i. It will be interesting to see how they compare but I haven't really had the Depth i long enough to know what it's fully capable of.

Have you found the tuning procedures in the manual to be a good starting point? Any tips for tuning a sub in a 2 channel system are welcome.

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Sub set up will be the single hardest thing to get right in 2 channel . Location location location.along with PATIENCE PATIENCE PATIENCE. Finding the right location that has good tight bass but is not recognizable. Experiment with placement . You may have to do the "sub woofer crawl" I found that my sub is in a weird position now and its the best of both worlds. Don't forget about trying to place it behind you too. Corners excite bass but are really locatable. HT is not nearly as locatable as 2 channel. Some like it in the center between the speakers with the phase set to 90* that in my room gives me weak bass. Its not as locatable but its weak and soft. Set the level with a test disc and a SPL meter. All in all your ears will tell you what to do !

 

[Craig]

Thanks, I'm also getting this sub and maybe another to use with a pair of CLSs in the near future or possibly CLX in the distant future. Hopefully, by then I'll be pretty good with sub placement and tuning.

 

[JonFo]

Craig, I’d recommend centered in the room, at the front, between the two speakers.

The big challenge with placing a sub by ear, is we notice bass SPL, but not the room resonances very well. And that’s really what you are trying to manage with placement as well.

As for phase, you’d have to measure, as that’s the only way to get it right.

Also, a measurement rig will let you fine-tune room treatments as well.

 

[Bboy Fantastic]

hey, I'm in the same boat, good luck. Check out HSU research website. Dr. Hsu goes into detail about placement. He prefers a position that's close and behind the listener.

 

[C.A.P]

hey, I'm in the same boat, good luck. Check out HSU research website. Dr. Hsu goes into detail about placement. He prefers a position that's close and behind the listener.

That is exactly where mine is now, And, its the best bass with no localization.

 

[benleeys]

Craig,

In my setup, I find there's little to gain by adding the Descent i to the Summits which already go very low at 24Hz. But if you are thinking about the CLX, this woofer was meant to mate with it (it has a CLX crossover point provided). It should be perfect also with the CLS.

I use the SMS-1 with the Descent i and could get a very flat response at the sweet spot with the unit situated midway along the side wall between that and the Summits.

In my 21' x 15' room with the unit placed beside one of the Summits, I found the 20-80Hz response curve (without the SMS-1) to be virtually identical with one another. At the suggestion from this forum, I spent some time fooling around the room with the mic in hand while the unit sat at the sweet spot, and finally found the flatest response at the present position. As JonFo mentioned, the Phase setting is best chosen with the aid of an SPL. I only use my sub for the LFE channel.

My 2c worth. Good luck.

 

[mikesinger]

i have been experimenting with a descent sub and the best spot i have found so far is "behind the cls panels on the back wall (centered) it loads the room and does wonders for the imaging..

havent tried by the listening position but i will as soon as i get some long interconnects.

 

[Bboy Fantastic]

That is exactly where mine is now, And, its the best bass with no localization.

kool, so the doctor knows what he is talking about! If I wasn't so stuck on making sure the subwoofer matches my fronts I would have bought the Hsu. But, the martin logans look soooooo much koooler!