Will I benefit from a Sub in a small room ?

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So I have a set of KRK Rokit RP5 G3 monitors and was looking into buying the KRK 10s sub but after looking at the size of it I am kind of 2 minds weather or not I would actually benefit from it in such a small room.

My room is around 7 foot X 15 foot. I am in the middle or redoing and decorating my room and will be acoustically treating the walls in the next few days. But will I benefit from using the sub in this room I am currently in?

I am an EDM (Hard House/Trance) producer and have been using the KRK Rokit RP5 G3s for around 12 months now and I do like these a lot but have been told by many to look into a sub, but have never been given a straight answer as to if I actually need one or not.

In case you are wondering my current set up is 2X KRK Rokit RP5 G3s, Roland Duo-Capture EX & Neo Oyaide D+ XRL - 1/4inch TRS cables.

If someone could shine some light onto this for me please and give me some information and help I would be extremely grateful !

Cheers!
JJ

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Small rooms tend to dampen low frequencies as well as create resonant frequencies. Sub can make up for the first one, but not for the second. In fact, almost nothing can stop low frequency resonance, so you need to live with it anyway.
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In my experience a sub will cause as many problems (potentially more) than it may offer benefits in a box sized room. I would recommend now't larger than 7" (even then they'll eat up a lot of precious space, 5" driver ought to be plenty) 2-way monitors with suitable treatment acoustically.

Are you having problems with the low frequencies with your current monitors?

Obviously just my opinion FWIW, All the best

Dean

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Yeah,,it's problematoc to live with a sub in a small room. I would use a sub only from time to time, to check the LF content in a mix that escapes the small monitors, but not enable it for alltime use. Always a good practice is to use a HP filter at mastering stage to limit the lows between 20 or even as high as 35 Hz. You cannot hear those even with a subwoofer, and only expensive ones can go as low as 20Hz. And of course of no use except in intentional "rumble the barn" situations.

So yeah, use a sub to check if you dont go overboard with the bass you cant hear, but enable it just for that, dont mix with it always on. And always crossrefference with some headphones, in the car, with the sub.

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iam in small room with m-audio m3-8 reference and sbx10 subwoofer and i only bought it cause subwoofer plays from 20Hz.. if your subwoofer have lower frequency response than your reference monitors you will help yourself even in a doghouse! sorry for arrogance:D
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It's is up to you.

Try listening to your mixes ona good speakers or with a system.

You will see if you need to hear the lows when you mix. Perhaps you already don't need improvement on the lows. Maybe they sound find, in that case being you don't need a sub.

If your songs sound good, you don't need it.
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I agree that subs can cause problems for monitoring, especially in inadequately treated rooms. I tried it for a while with some Yamaha HSM5s and just gave up and purchased monitors with better bass response.

But! I find that "mixing" isn't the only thing that I do and when I try to use monitors during my "writing" process, the sub helps because it keeps the beats bumping. For me though, I don't use my monitors for that, I have some separate small PA speakers with a stupidly large, but very effective PA sub.

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Will I benefit from a Sub in a small room ?
(7 foot X 15 foot)

What room treatment - and how extensively will you be treating your room?

Once your room is treated sufficiently, then it is possible to benefit from a sub in there.
But my inclination in such a small room would be to avoid shelling out the money for something that may cause you further problems.

Go with really good room treatment (and getting to know that 'new' room) for a few months first. Then see if you feel you need a sub.

This article is worth reading:
http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/dec07/a ... ustics.htm

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Everyone recommends a sub when you tell them you're using anything under a 6" monitor. It's a load of tosh in my opinion. A room that size with the RP5's should be fine unless you're trying to wake the dead. I auditioned a set of HS7's at the weekend in a room twice the size of what you have and the bottom end was fine. The HS7's may have an extra 1.5" of driver but the KRK's are renowned for their bass and the Yams aren't. Plus, if you're worried about the bass response, ditch the idea of a sub and buy a set of RP6 or 8's. They'll be less hassle in the long run.

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Can I refuse the idea of buying sub if I do sound production at home? My room hasn't got any sound isolation and I work only with stereo.

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sam_fishman wrote:Can I refuse the idea of buying sub if I do sound production at home? My room hasn't got any sound isolation and I work only with stereo.
As a lot of people have already said in here, if your room is untreated a sub will cause you more problems than it solves. This obviously depends on how big your speakers and room are.

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Gavvo wrote:Everyone recommends a sub when you tell them you're using anything under a 6" monitor. It's a load of tosh in my opinion.
Well... pretty much all prosumer actives are bass ported. If they weren't ported, they wouldn't sound all that impressive on the Guitar Center showroom. But "impressive" and "accurate" aren't necessarily the same thing. People argue that you should use subs with small monitors because small cones can't deliver reliably below a certain frequency. If you complement small monitors with a sub and you have your crossovers set right you can mostly avoid porting issues.

However, as you and others have mentioned, frequency response of your speakers is only part of the problem. The dimensions, configuration, and treatment of the room are all certainly important and a sub really might not be the best option for some folks as a result. No one-size-fits-all solutions.

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The point I was making is that unless you have a BIG studio a 6" cone, in most home studio scenarios, will be ample. I can see the the point in having a sub with a set of 5's in a moderately sized room but what is beyond my comprehension is that if you need more low end, why does a sub become the solution? A pair of HS5's will cost around £220 off the shelf, then £300(?) for an HS8S sub. Surely it's going to be cheaper buying the HS7/8's? The argument of "I don't have much space" doesn't stand there. If you don't have much space, what do you need a sub for?

Illogical.

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I have used a sub for years and wouldn't work without one.

BUT, be careful to keep it low...

Use it to only hear if there is any muddy frequencies in the lows.

Other-wise your mixes may end up sounding thin.

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