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Thoughts on 2.2 systems and best course for implementation?

B

Bluedroog

pfm Member
I’ve used a 2.1 system in the past with a BK XXLS400 and while it was a decent enough sub, I was never really satisfied with the results; no doubt due to my inept skills at correctly setting it up.

It’s an itch I never fully scratched though as I do love the idea of being able to call on the extra level of bass, be it for full orchestral or electronic music.

I’m aware there are plenty of dsp (???) gadgets and the like on the market, but I really don’t know one from the other.

What are my options for a box of trickery to seamlessly integrate cross-overs etc? I’m thinking a 2.2 system would be best but I’d rather stick with what I have if extra bass was at the cost of muddying up the midrange. I want only benefits workout compromise. Also I’d rather not need a relevant degree in order to set up.

My system is Bluesound Node 2i streaming Tidal - M-DAC (which I may look to upgrade to something like a Mytek Brooklyn but may also be an area for an all in one DAC / Pre / Bass management) and Event Opals.

I notice the Node has a subwoofer output with handy x-over in the app. But this may be no better than my previous setup and would give dual mono should I decide on two subs.

I’d not want to spend huge money, if I decide to at all, but curious if there’s any obvious choices given my requirements?

With thanks
 
You could try a miniDSP product, they make several for integrating subs like the 2x4, 2x4HD and Dirac enabled DDRC-24. I use the latter for integrating a single sub, early experiences with playing with Dirac.

I’d say to get the most out of it, it is worth spending some time and for me at least, this is quite a slow process / learning curve. There are however good videos on YouTube that are worth watching which show you how to create filters for the miniDSP (if you are not using Dirac) via REW. I can track down if you want.

miniDSP also make a nice unit which is a streamer, the SHD and SHD Studio. I am pretty positive the SHD would render both the bluesound and MDAC redundant plus would give you the sub integration options, it has 4 analogue outputs (xlr and rca). If you went this way you would properly end up going the Dirac way too. I am not knocking it just it did not quite work for me with the final sound BUT if trying again, I’d personally limit it’s impact rather than defaulting with its 20-20k correction. I think plenty of others will say it is very good (Dirac).

In summary if I were not into 5.1 film / streaming stereo music I’d have likely gone the SHD way. Life would be a lot simpler too with out so many boxes and cables!
 
Before you rush into buying any DSP solutions, just plan how to get the best result you can for two subs in your room. Then if you're still not quite happy with how it sounds you can investigate the DSP options.
I ran a two sub system for years with BK subs and found that getting it sounding great really just comes down to two things:
using the right connections, in this case a hi-level connection that comes off the speaker terminals (either at amp or speaker end), don't use the phono connection.
The other one is placement (and patience...ok so it's sort of three things). I was surprised where it is recommended to site twin subs in a stereo system. There are three main starting points for a rectangular (or similar) room and I actually ended up with the one where they are in the front two corners of my room, one behind each main speaker. I then spent a few hours moving them around (1inch at a time) to find where they really hit the sweet spot. Then it's just a question of setting the roll-off and volume on each sub (likely they both need to be the same) and there you go.
 
These are the three primary starting positions so you can choose whichever suits your room the best and the work from there on fine tuning.
One thing to note on the high-level connection for the subs is that it is a stereo connection (not mono) that uses a speakeron connector at sub end so you cant go wrong, but this splits out to 3 cables at the other end (normally red (right +ve), yellow (left +ve) and black (-ve)), so when you're running stereo subs, you will only be running one channel per sub so you need to twist yellow and red together on each cable, so you have a single twisted colours cable and a black cable coming out of each sub. The twisted colours go to positive (red terminal) and black to negative (other terminal - normally black) on the speakers/amp.
These hi-level cables are supplied foc with BK and REL subs I believe, so no cost involved :)
 
I use shd to integrate 2 bk subs with Atc’s . Works really well . The shd handles crossover , slope even timing . Plus it’s a dac, streamer , Dirac , and pre amp.
 
Lots of choice, have a look into the DSpeaker stuff they do a reasonably priced box that might suit

http://www.dspeaker.com/en/products/anti-mode-8033.shtml

Having multiple subwoofers reproducing the same signal (dual mono) will result in a smoother response in general. Anti-Mode 8033 can be used with any number of subs and allows you to use corner placement for the subs. Connect the Anti-Mode unit to the signal going into each sub, and calibrate them together. When calibrated together, the nulls created by one sub are filled in by the other sub. Anti-ModeTM calibration takes this into account, creating a smoother overall response than if the subs were calibrated separately using multiple Anti-Mode units.
If you want to reproduce low frequencies in stereo, you need either two Anti-Mode 8033's or one Anti-Mode 2.0 Dual Core. Stereo at low frequencies is generally not needed, because low frequencies are omnidirectional and predominantly mixed in mono. Any directional cues are determined from harmonics and other aural information. It is usually better to use the dual mono arrangement instead of stereo to get a more even response.​
 
The shd also removes the need for multiple boxes and slides in in the gap between the telly and the table it sits on
 
Mini dsp shd is as mentioned already ideal for this. No need for external dac, or even the blue sound. Easy enough to get one on home demo and see if you like it.

I use a pair of them, so 4 outputs for each channel, active 2 ways with 4 subs, or lots of other combinations depending what I’m testing at the time. Integrate a 2.2 properly with one of these and high pass the mains will improve bass and mids. The shd is available with a mic for not much extra and software is free
 
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