Ported Tower Speaker and Sealed Subwoofer matching? Should I try a ported sub? (1 Viewer)

[Chris PC]

Executive Summary: No matter how I have tried to run my sealed subwoofer with my ported front tower speakers, I don't like the resulting bass sound when playing music. Should I try a ported subwoofer?

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The reason I ask this is because I noticed that PSB and Mirage (who's former top-of-the-line subs used to be sealed designs) and are now making more and more higher end ported subwoofers, not to mention the countless other companies who make ported subwoofers, and I wonder if I'd like a ported subwoofer instead of my Mirage BPS-400, or, should I try harder to get things in my setup to work better?

Ok, so I have talked about the differences (real or imagined by me) between ported and sealed speaker and subwoofer designs on here before. This is not about one vs the other, but rather, it's about matching a pair of ported tower speakers with very nice low bass sound with a sealed subwoofer. It doesn't sound quite as good as the towers alone. Although I do hear some deeper bass, the good qualities of the bass sound of the tower alone often seems lost when I try to blend the sub. I have tried all sorts of ways. Source Direct playing the towers full range and letting the subwoofer use the front left and right pre-outs and it's own 50hz crossover and/or using the receivers crossover.

I am wondering if it is possible that a ported subwoofer could blend better with my ported speakers. I have a pair of PSB Image T65 towers which are ported and go down to around 30 hz, and when I play music, I am pretty sure I do hear this fairly deep bass extention (deep for a tower speaker rather than a sub). Obviously the tower cannot go much deeper than 25-30 hz at the same volume as a subwoofer can, so I often want to get even more extension. My subwoofer is a Mirage BPS-400 and it's sealed. I have bought a Behringer Feedback Destroyer and plan to try and tame the subwoofer. My room is rather small and somewhat square-ish. The bass from the speakers sound good, but the bass from the subwoofer isn't always what I'd like. For movies, it sounds pretty good, but I have never been able to blend the subwoofer and the speakers to my satisfaction for music. It's a little complicated because in order to get the best bass from my towers I must run Source Direct (full range) so that leaves out the option of using my receivers crossover, which is a high 100 hz anyhow, at least in terms of the best quality of sound.

I will try to EQ the subwoofer better, and I hope to move to a receiver that has at least an 80 hz crossover, or perhaps use an outboard crossover, but I often wonder if the sealed sub and the ported subwoofer are not blending because the character of their bass sounds are mis-matched. Perhaps the sound from the different speaker designs are not blending because their phase and timing is out of whack.

I still want to try to somehow blend a subwoofer with my speakers while allowing the towers to play full range, because their low end sounds good, but I wonder how I should go about it. I was thinking I could use an EQ and/or crossover to get the best out of a subwoofer when I try to blend this way, trying to prevent the subwoofer from interfering or muddying up the bass that the tower is playing but, is there any point in considering a ported subwoofer design in my setup? PSB and Mirage, SVS and countless others make what seem like very good ported subwoofers.

Any thoughts?

 

[SethH]

It's going to be difficult to blend well with a full range signal going to your towers in addition to the sub. It is very possible that you are canceling out some of the bass waves -- which is often a problem in square rooms even when you don't have two different sources of bass.

I really think the only way to solve your problem is to find a way to adjust the crossover. In your case that may mean purchasing a new receiver or perhaps finding some sort of external crossover.

Since you've already got the BFD you should download RoomEQWizard (free program) and use that to see if you can make things better without spending more money. You should also play around with your subwoofer placement and/or the phase of your subwoofer to see if you can improve things. Either way . . . I think your best chance for solid improvement is to get some sort of crossover going -- preferably at 50-60Hz.

 

[bobbyg2]

If you wanted bigger, more boomier bass, go with a ported subwoofer. If you anted tight, accurate base, go with a sealed. But there is one other options, having a "vent woofer". Basically it's a subwoofer with a powered and non powered woofer. The non powered woofer acts as a seal and produces sound from the sound waves of the powered woofer hitting it. It's more boomy than the sealed, more accurate than the ported. It is also less accurate than the sealed and less boomy than the ported. So, it's pretty much the middle of the subs.

Many tower speakers and surround speakers come with vent woofers as well.

 

[Chris PC]

Right. I will try some stuff with the EQ. I guess even though my room is somewhat square, the towers still sound decent. I do intend to try a receiver with an 80 hz crossover vs my 100 hz, and not only that, I am hoping to get a receiver with main-in's so I can run my own crossover. I can't play with phase because there is no adjustment on my subwoofer, although perhaps an outboard crossover could add that. I am aware of subwoofers with "passive" woofers, basically a woofer cone, often flat, without any voice coil. They are sort of a cross between a ported and sealed speaker. Not sure there are many out there for me. Come to think of it, I think the Mirage didn't blend well with my sealed Boston Acoustics speakers either, so perhaps it is a function of the subwoofer. I'l start with the EQ

 

[MaxL]

i agree. one other possible fix for room cancelling is to buy or build bass traps. this won't help if the crossover is the problem. ported vs sealed shouldn't inherently matter that much.

 

[Chris PC]

Fair enough. I guess the reason I suspect the different designs is not only the design, but the signal phase. The subwoofer is of course amplified, so the bass goes through an rca from the receiver to the sub before it's amplified. Also, two towers in a room results in bass coming from two separate places, and yet the sound is ok. Maybe I could put the towers closer together and experiment playing just one tower to see what that does to the bass.

Like I said, I will try the EQ and also fudge around with the crossover options. I just hate not using the towers full range.