Setting the subwoofer with the monitors... I do have an SPL meter.

D

delirium trigge

New member
When setting the subwoofer through pink noise, do I want it around the same volume as the monitors? Or is it okay to go a little above it? I do like a lot of bass when listening to music. Although when monitoring for recording, I do turn the subwoofer on and off.

I have the M-Audio SBX-10, which is huge for my small studio. With the volume all the way up, it will shake the entire house. I use KRK Rokit 6 Generation 3 monitors. I seen no reason to go for the bigger monitors as 6 inch seems to be fine with a subwoofer. Although without a subwoofer, I would probably be an 8 inch or 10inch guy.

I just now got this monitor set up. So far I have the LF at 0 and the HF at 0. So it is flat. I turn them all the way up and adjust the volume with my interface. I have the sub set a little above 80hz with the volume on 0DB on the sub.

I am just curious how you guys have your sub-monitor set up. It doesn't have to be the same speakers I have. In a small to medium room. Are you setting your monitors flat? Or are you boosting the lows on the monitors as well? I've tried both and can't really decide what I like. During a mix, I think I would go flat. During listening to a concert DVD or music, I sort of do like the bass boost in the monitors as well.

I would like to properly set up my subwoofer for mixing purposes and not for listening purposes though. I have never done this before, so I am a bit confused on how to do it. With the monitors, I understand how to do it. With the subwoofer I do not. And I do not know where to point the SPL meter for the subwoofer.

I know the subwoofer shows up at 177 DB when I have the volume at 0DB on the subwoofer. It sounds pretty even to my ears to the monitors. But I don't want to trust my ears here.

I am using Logic Pro X, I know how to turn on the pink noise, but is that the way I need to do it with the subwoofer as well?
 
I did the best I could with a limited mic selection to get the response as flat as possible through the crossover section. One day I'll find myself an actual measurement mic that I can trust with the low end and try to dial it in closer, but right now it feels about right to me, and things seem to be translating well, so...

My setup is a little different. The monitors are supposedly flat down to 50Hz, and the subs don't have adjustable crossovers, but fall off around 180, so I'm kind of rolling both off gently where they overlap so they share a bit of the burden. Seems to be working quite well.
 
I would say that it s more important to experiment and find how your mixes translate. Your room will have much to do with what works with subwoofer setup. Measurements in dB are not actually telling you anything useful. Use your ears and find what sounds good to you and works for mixing.

Sorry, there just isn't a set placement or outline that works in every room.
 
Sorry, there just isn't a set placement or outline that works in every room.
Click to expand...
Amen to that. I don't even go there. Last time I ran a sub I had a pro come in to set it up. And sure enough, I moved it all at one point (and believe me, I was careful to spike everything before) and when I put it back, it was an audible mess-terpiece.

So even the *set* placement in a particular space can be extremely sensitive to even the slightest change.

Setting up and properly calibrating a 2.0 system can be difficult enough (and that's assuming the room is actually worthy of the system). A sub adds an entirely different level of difficulty.
 
delirium trigge said:
When setting the subwoofer through pink noise, do I want it around the same volume as the monitors?
Click to expand...

The only way to do this correctly is to measure your room's low frequency response as you adjust the levels. Trying to adjust subwoofer levels and placement by ear is doomed to fail because whatever music you play will interact in a unique way with the peaks and nulls in your room. A song in the key of A might sound perfect with the sub at some level, while a song in C might be boomy and a song in F# could be thin. (This variation is caused by your room, and the solution is bass traps.) These articles will help:

Room Measuring Primer
Subwoofer Placement
Acoustic Basics

--Ethan
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top