Two subwoofers with Wiim amp ultra?

[Indydan]

I already have a REL T5X plugged into the Wiim amp ultra's subwoofer out. I have often heard that two subs are better than one.
My question is, could I keep my REL with a physical connection to the Wiim, and add a Wiim sub wirelessly to the mix? If so, would it be complicated?

 

[Goodnews]

My 2 Cent:

Woofer companies mix


A)
I currently only use two subwoofers, and since the sub output is in mono, you need to pay attention to where the crossover frequency of the woofers to the main speakers is.

This also depends somewhat on the genre being listened to.
If the genre is more DUB/techno or similar, a frequency < 64 Hz is a no-go, and in songwriting, well, and classical/jazz live, it's also a no-go.

B)
Strictly defined, ONE woofer is already close to a no-go... Unless it only serves the range < 40 Hz
I always find it surprising when I ask what frequency the current bass is and what the answer is.

It is usually located deeper than it actually is.

For two subwoofers, i.e., outside of a dipole system, the option is to place one between the main speakers and the other in a higher position at the back of the wall to handle the room gain.

One between the main speakers, the other in a higher position at the back of the wall, which controls the room gain.
However, I doubt that the Wiim Sub DSP can handle this.

So back to A.

 

[Indydan]

My 2 Cent:

Woofer companies mix


A)
I currently only use two subwoofers, and since the sub output is in mono, you need to pay attention to where the crossover frequency of the woofers to the main speakers is.

This also depends somewhat on the genre being listened to.
If the genre is more DUB/techno or similar, a frequency < 64 Hz is a no-go, and in songwriting, well, and classical/jazz live, it's also a no-go.

B)
Strictly defined, ONE woofer is already close to a no-go... Unless it only serves the range < 40 Hz
I always find it surprising when I ask what frequency the current bass is and what the answer is.

It is usually located deeper than it actually is.

For two subwoofers, i.e., outside of a dipole system, the option is to place one between the main speakers and the other in a higher position at the back of the wall to handle the room gain.

One between the main speakers, the other in a higher position at the back of the wall, which controls the room gain.
However, I doubt that the Wiim Sub DSP can handle this.

So back to A.

Thank you!

 

[harkpabst]

I already have a REL T5X plugged into the Wiim amp ultra's subwoofer out. I have often heard that two subs are better than one.

Indeed, two subs are usually better than a single one just because of the way they can pressurise the room.

My question is, could I keep my REL with a physical connection to the Wiim, and add a Wiim sub wirelessly to the mix? If so, would it be complicated?

Mixing up two different brands and/or models of subs might work out OK, but usually not when they are both connected to the same monophonic output using the same low pass filter.

Right now I am using two identical Lyngdorf BW-2 subwoofers with my WiiM Amp Ultra. They are are crossed to the mains at 65 Hz with WiiM's steep 4th order Linkwitz-Riley low pass and high pass. The physical connection from the WiiM Amp Ultra to the subwoofers is through a Y-style splitter cable.

The results are spectacular. There's absolutely nothing missing with mono subwoofers crossed that low.

 

[Indydan]

Indeed, two subs are usually better than a single one just because of the way they can pressurise the room.


Mixing up two different brands and/or models of subs might work out OK, but usually not when they are both connected to the same monophonic output using the same low pass filter.

Right now I am using two identical Lyngdorf BW-2 subwoofers with my WiiM Amp Ultra. They are are crossed to the mains at 65 Hz with WiiM's steep 4th order Linkwitz-Riley low pass and high pass. The physical connection from the WiiM Amp Ultra to the subwoofers is through a Y-style splitter cable.

The results are spectacular. There's absolutely nothing missing with mono subwoofers crossed that low.

Thank you! You have given me something to think about.

 

[goodmore]

Does running one of the Subs 180 work out better?

 

[Eddie Spaghetti]

Does running one of the Subs 180 work out better?

They’d cancel each other out.

 

[Goodnews]

The interaction between phase, delay and reverberation time is not easy to master in itself. This is especially true when only rudimentary bass settings such as those available on Wiim devices are available. Wiim confirms this.

With two woofers, it is impossible to control the overload in the room. There is the concept of "one note bass" – a classic motor action is tapping your foot. A well-adjusted bass system is not primarily perceived as bass in the room, but rather as bass from the instrument, and it greatly helps to layer the room structure being reproduced.

Very quickly, the taste overload is perceived as correct, and we are talking here about an RT60 < 0.4 ms in the range < 60 Hz.

Side note:
What can also play a role is the master gain.
A stepless phase regulation could also be helpful.

A simple visualisation of the spatial behaviour of 1 to 2 woofers

 

[dominikz]

I already have a REL T5X plugged into the Wiim amp ultra's subwoofer out. I have often heard that two subs are better than one.
My question is, could I keep my REL with a physical connection to the Wiim, and add a Wiim sub wirelessly to the mix? If so, would it be complicated?

There are two main reasons to go for dual subs:

1. It allows you to get a smoother bass response across a wider listening area. Have a look at this presentation. This gives more flexibility with subwoofer placement, implies the bass is summed to mono, and you must be able to control each sub with DSP individually (e.g. with an additional device like miniDSP 2x4) and their parameters calculated with a software like MSO (link to guide). Subwoofers don't need to be the same model for this, but it is probably a good idea that they have similar LF extension.
2. Alternatively, you can sacrifice the bass consistency to get stereo bass. This usually implies subs are identical, they are placed near each speaker, and you have a way to send left channel only to the left sub and right channel only to the right sub. This may be difficult to do with WiiM devices and most subs.

In either case you should be able to get higher playback levels with two subs compared to one.