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I want to add another sub is it ok to mismatch?

Donny

Donny

Big Damn Hero
I am pretty happy with my older sony sub and have wanted to buy another one for awhile now but it is no longer available :( It's a push pull set up with 2 10's. Would I mess up the sound by adding a front fire 8-12inch sub? Or should I buy 2 cheapy matching new subs ($100-150 each)? I am thinking along the lines of another sony or a dayton sub kit.
 
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It's not critical, but I would try to keep similar styles. For instance, I don't think I'd be trying one sealed with a ported sub. I don't believe I'd lean towards going cheap, in any case.
 
That model Sony with the dual-10" drivers does come up on eBay.
Right now, in my HT system, I've added a pair of the Sony 12" subwoofers to the pair of A-Neutronics 12" subs. Four! subwoofers :banana:
 
Don't mix subs. Even with similar enclosure alignments, different subs are going to have differing inductance values which cause them to rolloff at different points, have different Fs values, Qts values, and pretty much everything that determines how something is going to sound.

Stick with all of the same...
 
The inductance would only effect the high-end rolloff, and I hope for everyones sake they are keeping their subs well below the levels that most drivers are affected by inductance. :)
 
If you're not happy with the bottom end, why not just buy 1 bigger sub? Seems like having 2 subs, especially mismatched ones, would be a PITA to position, set up properly, and make sound good.
 
It is much easier to deal with multiple subs than a single sub. Single subs are the most difficult to position correctly. 2 subs is a bit easier because the more subs occupying positions in the room, the more uniform the bass response will be. The primary range that the subwoofer operates in will be within freqs with wavelengths greater than room dimensions which creates high and low pressure zones. If you have a single sub, there will be very distinct high pressure zones and nulls in your room if you walk around. With 2 subs, the variations in the room dramatically improve. With 4 subs, one in each corner (assuming your room is rectangular) you can pretty much safely stop fiddling with position as the bass response will be about as close as you'll get to being uniform.

Don't get me wrong, I'd take one high quality sub over multiple bose subs for instance, it's just that the sweetspot in the room will be small.
 
and I hope for everyones sake they are keeping their subs well below the levels that most drivers are affected by inductance.
Click to expand...

You'd be surprised. Drivers that use the XBL^2 motor, for example, start rolling off at 60Hz, so even if you have an 80Hz crossover point, adding a traditional underhung would be a recipe for sonic weirdness...

A few of my friends and I took a small sampling of some more common woofers last year, and posted up the results here: http://bigbassman.realmofexcursion.com. Even comparing drivers with similar motor designs, there can be a pretty distinct difference in SPL. Which would translate to a strange FR and result.

Unless I hear a multiple-sized and brand substage that absolutely blows me away, I'll stick to my opinion.
 
Interesting, the original Brahma subwoofers had real extension into the thousands of hertz range. Beamy as all get out, but still there and prevalent.

BTW, I don't disagree that it's not ideal to use different types, but it wouldn't be a recipe for sonic disaster, in my experience.
 
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