 Subs |
NN2
Tourist
Registration Date: 12-07-2008
Posts: 29
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Just interested, how many people are using sub woofers in their studios?
I've recently just set-up and bought a pair of Fostex PM0.5 active monitors. Whilst these sound good, clear and precise I've recently noticed that Fostex do a PM0.5 Sub, and now I'm thinking should I? shouldn't I? Any advice on this would be appreciated. (I have read the FAQ about monitors but it didn't go into subs and their benefits too much, I don't think)
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05-08-2008 15:06 |
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D2o 
Ghost
Registration Date: 30-05-2005
Posts: 2,545
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05-08-2008 17:02 |
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NN2
Tourist
Registration Date: 12-07-2008
Posts: 29
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No. I just have the PM0.5s on some quiklok 3ft monitor stands (which look pretty crap actually). My room is basically the spare bedroom which is about 10ft by 12ft ish.
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05-08-2008 17:10 |
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djfreemc
Sponsor
Registration Date: 25-07-2003
Posts: 1,117
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Subs are quite hard to adjust for a monitoring setup.
Actually, the only reason you would need a sub is to hear the ultra-low frequencies. For example, if your regular monitors have their -3dB point at 53Hz, you could stretch it up to say 30Hz with a sub.
You will need to set up the sub correctly and precisely: the volume output of your sub should be exactly the same as the output of your speakers, and the cutoff frequency of your sub should be adjusted so that you don't get a boost in the part of the frequency spectrum where both your speakers and sub give some output.
In order to do this properly, you would need a very high quality audio spectrum analyzer, send some white noise to your speakers, and adjust for flat frequency response on the spectrum analyser, compensating any non-linearity the frequency analyzer or its microphone might have. Another solution would be if they sell complete sets with speakers and sub allready adjusted from factory.Pretty much like the "matched pairs" you can buy for some high-end speakers etc.
Next to that there is indeed the matter of standing waves, as Ghost pointed out. This can be improved by using some sound absorbing materials on the walls though and carefully choosing your speaker locations.
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05-08-2008 20:37 |
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Sephiroth
Master Producer
Registration Date: 11-04-2006
Posts: 741
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i wouldnt bother with a sub (unless your mixing sound for film or anything like that)...those monitors are pretty decent and sound pretty clear....id take the money you would have spent on the sub and get some bass traps and other acoustic treatments to tone down the 'boominess' of the room as its pretty small....i did have a link for an rt60 (reverberation time) program that shows you long it takes sound to decay in your room...absorbant materials will help tame that too aswell as standing waves.....plus if your speakers are posistioned too close to the walls, its gonna cause more 'boominess'...so id forget a sub, read up on basic home acoustics and get some treatment...will improve the sound of the room much more than a sub imo
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05-08-2008 21:06 |
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NN2
Tourist
Registration Date: 12-07-2008
Posts: 29
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Shit man! the whole accoustics thing gets pretty heavy! my room measures (l) 3.7m x (w) 2.8m x (h) 2.7m. Not sure what to make of the frequencies returned by the calculator though 
I need to read a book about it. I'll ditch the sub idea as I wasn't keen anyway. Definately spend the money on accoustic treatment, or perhaps at the moment some more plug-ins 
I did manage to create (or synthesize 
) a sick sub bass that was dancing nicely around 50 to 75Hz the other night and it was pretty good through these tiny 0.5s. I'll be happy to concentrate on making sounds for now!
Cheers.
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05-08-2008 23:39 |
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