Weekly Q&A: Answers | Week of April 29, 2024

A 30,000 Foot View of Woofers

Q: What is the best way to integrate a subwoofer into a 2 Channel system? Is it better to have two subs?

Should you connect the sub through speaker wire or with interconnects out? Are smaller subs faster than large units? Why don't manufacturers of bookshelf speakers, make matching subs that would upgrade the sound later when more funds are available? The subs could be designed to act as the stands as well.

-Michael

A: Well, that is a lot of questions, each of which could have lengthy answers. But here are a few basic thoughts which we hope are helpful:

• Number of subs: It helps to understand that part of what we are doing with subs is attempting to even out the bass response in the listening room. Bass is inevitably uneven due to resonances created by the interactions of bass wavelengths with room dimensions. These resonances will be exacerbated or limited by the positioning of the speakers and the listener. Floyd Toole and Todd Welti investigated this at Harman, as has Earl Geddes. Too…