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After reconnecting my HE15 I have done a little experimentation with different placements and found that there is a lot to gain in my room from separating the subs. I found good interesting information on the web, specifically Nousaine's work on multiple subs and even better the Harman paper. My quick findings are totally contrary to Nousaine's which I think is a factor of the room he was in - his result that corner placement yields better sub-bass did not hold true at all in my room, which is 18'10" x 13' x 8'. I took measurements (mike 37" high) in four locations which are 129" from the screen wall and (in order of measurement) 78", 104", 51", 23" from the left wall, 78" being my favorite spot to sit. I found nearly the exact same subsonic response, and much smoother unequalized response (and better sound) from 10-100hz with spread placement, which is one sub in the front left corner (he15), one further to the right on the screen wall 92" from left corner pointed right, and one on the right wall about 58" back from the screen wall with the woofer pointed to the right. Interestingly, pointing the woofers on the two 'portable' subs to the side made a noticeable difference in earlier tests, removing sizeable nulls that were present. This may be due to moving the acoustic center of the woofer closer to the boundary, anyway I was/am very surprised that it made such a difference.
All the subs in corner, locations in 1-4 order (see distance above in text). Primary listening position is number 1. Looks cool but the penalty in sound is high. The huge null around 36hz is probably the reason that I perceive bad bass response at my seat. Curve two does actually have better subsonic, supporting the idea that Nousaine's result had to do with HIS room, and cannot be generalized to all small rooms.
HE15 in corner, subs spread out. Note overall smoother response esp in 35hz - 65hz range. In experimenting I found that the movement of the 'portable' subs had a profound impact on nulls, and small adjustments like the turning the sub sideways was measurably significant. The graphs show several nulls but notice that they are less severe (narrower or less magnitude) and so seem to have less impact on the sound. I'm sure this is audible with the right material but the null at 36hz in the first graph is very audible.
Average of all subs in corner, bad hump in 35-65hz region.
Relatively small null at 50hz is much less offensive than corner stack. Subjective bass in room is much better with low transients much more defined. Pressure in low bass is evident whereas the corner stack was lacking. Measurement-wise it appears okay, but in listening it felt like being in a null. Another excellent result of this is that while taking measurements I noticed reduced boominess around the rear wall where the pc is, and generally smoother bass around the room, less boomy at boundaries and also less excitation of dishes in the kitchen and just resonances in adjoining rooms. This is cool because there seems to be more bass in the listening room, and less in the other rooms. Weird and cool.
All the subs in corner, locations in 1-4 order (see distance above in text). Primary listening position is number 1. Looks cool but the penalty in sound is high. The huge null around 36hz is probably the reason that I perceive bad bass response at my seat. Curve two does actually have better subsonic, supporting the idea that Nousaine's result had to do with HIS room, and cannot be generalized to all small rooms.
HE15 in corner, subs spread out. Note overall smoother response esp in 35hz - 65hz range. In experimenting I found that the movement of the 'portable' subs had a profound impact on nulls, and small adjustments like the turning the sub sideways was measurably significant. The graphs show several nulls but notice that they are less severe (narrower or less magnitude) and so seem to have less impact on the sound. I'm sure this is audible with the right material but the null at 36hz in the first graph is very audible.
Average of all subs in corner, bad hump in 35-65hz region.
Relatively small null at 50hz is much less offensive than corner stack. Subjective bass in room is much better with low transients much more defined. Pressure in low bass is evident whereas the corner stack was lacking. Measurement-wise it appears okay, but in listening it felt like being in a null. Another excellent result of this is that while taking measurements I noticed reduced boominess around the rear wall where the pc is, and generally smoother bass around the room, less boomy at boundaries and also less excitation of dishes in the kitchen and just resonances in adjoining rooms. This is cool because there seems to be more bass in the listening room, and less in the other rooms. Weird and cool.
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