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RE: How many subs? and should I go from 5.1 to 7.1?

Posted by David Aiken on March 7, 2010 at 13:31:04:
1- A second sub should help smooth the low bass room response somewhat but how much will depend on both the room and the sub placement. There's info on the Harmon site about placement of multiple subs which seems to indicate that 2 is better than 1 but 4 is better than 2. If you go the multiple sub route, ideally you also need to be able to adjust the arrival time of the sound from each sub and most receivers tend to have only 1 sub output which makes adjustment of arrival times for each sub impossible. If you can't adjust arrival times independently, then I think you will not get the full benefit achievable from adding the second sub but you may still get some benefit. I think you're going to have to try it and see whether you prefer 2 or 1. I don't think there's any way anyone can give you a clear cut yes or no answer that can be guaranteed.

2- Most soundtracks are only 5.1 and those which are 6.1/7.1 are probably all derived from a 5.1 master than being mixed directly to 6.1/7.1. Add to that the fact that if you do add rear channels you need to sit far enough from the rear speakers in order for the sound from their drivers to integrate properly. It's not just a matter of matching levels and arrival times. Sitting too close to a speaker results in abnormalities in the frequency response because of the differences in radiation pattern from the different drivers in the speaker. If you've got limited space and can't provide sufficient distance between the rear speakers and the rearmost listening position, simply stick with 5.1. You need space for surround sound setups and you need more space for 7.1 than you do for 5.1.