# New tower's for better subwoofer integration.



## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

Hello everyone. I am getting a new sub enclosure from funk audio for my home theater that will be using a tc sounds lms ultra 5400 18" paired up with 2 psi audio 18" radiator's tuned to 17.5 Hz. Right now I have Polk audio'd R40 towers and feel that they will not be able to keep me happy for much longer. The plan here is to upgrade to Polk audio Rti A9 towers. First idea I had was to use the Rti A9's in by amp mode on my denon 3808ci so I could get a little more power to them until I can get a better amp to power them. The question is how well would they match my subwoofer that will be used? The reason why I chose the Rti A9 was because of the woofers they use as I would think that they should help a lot with the punch in music/HT. Right now the room is around 15'x17' with 8' ceiling and is open to a hallway and dining/ kitchen. Probably around 2700 cubic feet. Are the Rti A9's a bit over kill for the environment? Thanks for the posts!


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The A9s are not overkill for any environment. Its always better to have more speaker than not enough. Sub integration is really not about the quality of the speakers but more how good the sub is in your room. Placement is key. where do you have the sub now?
I would not bother with bi amping speakers, it is of no gain to do so unless you involve alot more equipment


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

At the moment I dont have the subwoofer setup. Im waiting on the cabinet to be shipped to my work place so I can stain it and take it to get sprayed. It will either be in the front corner against the wall or directly behind the couch that is kind of a pocket. When it is finished it will be close to 200 lbs. So its not going to be fun figuring out the best placment. Ill be using a mini dsp for eq hopefully with rew. This room is horrible for placement but its about the only option i got. We usualy watch tv with no subwoofer witch I think would be nice to have the amount of wooferage when the sub is not running. When we listen to music or watch movies the sub will be on. I cant think of any better placement that will work.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

The best thing to do is a sub crawl, by placing the sub as close to the listening position as possible (move the seating out of the way) then play some good bass heavy movies or a test tone and crawl around the outside of the room. Where the lows seem to have the best impact that is where you should then place the sub.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

Iv read about the subwoofer crawl and from what I understand is that it will do nothing but hurt your knees. The reason it wo t work is that the subwoofer producing sound will create standing waves. These waves are all different length depending on the Hz. Therefore the modes will be different in the room at different Hz. The modes will be affected in all kinds of different ways "couch placement and tables" as the sound waves bounce around the room and reflect or absorb into different types of material. With that being said would a sub crawl do any justice for good placement? Correct me if im wrong but placement is only half of the equation so to speak.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

This video will describe it better then I have. http://twit.tv/show/home-theater-geeks/197


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Absorbsion yes reflection not so much. Lower frequencies below 80hz do not bounce around a room. They pass through most everything or are absorbed. 
The crawl is a good start, is it always perfect no but it's a lot better than just placing the sub and trying to fix issues by eq.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

No kidding. Theres gotta be some kind of starting point. I guess the question would be for a more even bass response would you rather be closer to a sub or farther away and corner loaded?


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## Steeve-O (Dec 3, 2010)

Midwall usually yield flatter response but less output while corner loading will accentuate the bass. Also like he said subwoofer crawl is the starting point. No place is perfect but with the subwoofer crawl you will determine what might be some good placement. Then you try the subwoofer at those place and you can measure the result if you want and go from there. 

Yes subwoofer crawl can hurt your knew. But it's better than hurting your back while moving a 200lbs box a dozen time. Unfortunately there is no free lunch. There are general rule to follow but no room is identical.


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## Blacklightning (Nov 22, 2011)

If you don't like the sub crawl you could always sit in your listening position and have your Wife/girlfriend/friend move the sub to different spots in the room until you find a few good spots and then start playing with the phase.

I myself did the sub crawl and found a couple good spots. A month later I got a test mic and retested, sure enough those spots were the better spots in my room.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

So I was pretty much set on the Polk audio rti9a but I think I will be doing a different way. Chane music and cinema A5rx-c towers and A2rx-c center channel. After the review I read I almost couldn't sleep knowing that there is a group buy with discount prices. There is no place I can listen that has display's here so it's all about review's. It seems to good to be true. Any thoughts on that setup?


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## Insearchof (Oct 21, 2014)

What were you planning to power the polks with? 
I'm also thinking I'm going to order the Chane speakers down the road - wish i could take advantage of the group buy now.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

Just the demon avr-3808ci for now. Probably upgrade to a better amp down the road. Just need to get by for now.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

So yesterday I got in the A2rx-c center. Working on the break in process right now and hear it cleaning up and am happy so far. It's sitting on some 2/32 foam rubber mat that I had laying around from when I had lined my drawers in the tool box at work. It's kind of sticky and squishy stuff. But my question here is about the towers I have on the way witch are the A5rx-c. Right now how I have my towers set up are spiked but with the metal floor savers that go under them. Should I be uncoupling them from the floor as I have linoleum floors? I have bought the SVS SoundPath Subwoofer Isolation System for the subwoofer but will I need something like this for the towers?


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## Blacklightning (Nov 22, 2011)

This has been talked about time and time again and I could not make sense of it.
The way I think of it is. It does not make a difference in the long run. If you pick to do something one way and a month later I broke into your house and changed it without you knowing, you would not turn on your system and say "something is wrong here".

My rule when it comes to this is do what is best for your speakers to make them stable from being tipped over.


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## tonyvdb (Sep 5, 2007)

Agreed, dont make to much of a deal concerning yourself with decoupling speakers. Placement will make a much bigger difference. you want them to be stable and the good decoupling methods out there yield very little audible difference.


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

I have tiny NHT superzero speakers... they have a 1" tweeter and a 4.5" woofer.... a small bookshelf is all it is. My sub is a 15" HSU sub. Right now I can tell you I lack alot in the mid bass department....

it makes it difficult to dial the sub in because the sub has to be turned down to be integrated well.

TODAY I receive my SVS ultra system I got from Sonnie so I will report back on if a better speaker will help integrate the sub better.

This is essentially what your asking for right? I was in teh same boat albeit worse speakers then what you had to start with.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

Yes sir that was the starting question. Let me know how it works out! Thanks!


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

[QUOTE="Bmxer241;1110833" TODAY I receive my SVS ultra system I got from Sonnie so I will report back on if a better speaker will help integrate the sub better. [/QUOTE] (hand raised) oh pick me!!! Yep. Yep it will. Btw. I'd like to say, man you got a great deal from Sonnie. And they're broke in! My speaker shopping list is very short (as is my stack of cash at the moment), and those ultras are on it. Looking forward to your impressions. I'm guessing a couple backflips are in your future.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Bmxer241 said:


> TODAY I receive my SVS ultra system I got from Sonnie so I will report back on if a better speaker will help integrate the sub better.


 weird. This was what I quoted...


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

Ultras are powered up....

W O W



/the end...


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## Talley (Dec 8, 2010)

...sorry had to go relieve myself.

Ya... so far just powered the mains up and half fast threw them up and WOW. far far superior than the NHTs I had. I'll follow up with some impressions after some movie listening in my own thread.

as far as subwoofer integration.... YES YES YES... much easier to integrate just on my initial two hour of listening. the sub barely has to work but just "fills" in some low end with great punch.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

Nice. The a5rx-c should work well with the lms ultra. Can't wait. I'll look for your thread. Thanks for the info guys. Much appreciated!


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Lms ultra is beast!


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

Have you ever heard one? This will be my first.


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## willis7469 (Jan 31, 2014)

Sorry, I missed this. 
I actually have not heard one. But I've seen a number of videos and threads and people talking about them. I have used epic drivers, and found them to be very good. My long time friend owns 2 car audio stores, and I got to see an lms he had for a customer. I've followed your progress, and I think you're gonna have a great system.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

So far so good. I don't think I have even got over 1000 watts yet and it is great. Very clean and just about flat to 16 Hz. Waiting on the chane a5rx-c to come so I can start setting it all up. I know it will all change when broken in but if it's clean and clear like the a2rx-c it will be some sweet sound. I'll need to post pictures when I head to work tomorrow.


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## ht-core (Jun 13, 2013)

I got the new towers in and are going through break in for now in direct mode. It's going to take some time and I will be heading to Washington on the 20th this month. I assume I will be coming home and doing a setup for a short while as the sound will be changing from time to time. The sub sounds great for now but lacks power in the 15Hz range because of amplification. It seems that my a2rx-c is close if not broken in and it sounds better then the a5rx-c's at the moment. Very clean and precise. trying to get as much time on them as I can. ill keep you posted shortly.


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