2-sub stereo mode recommendations + how to connect them

[maxim]

Hello everyone!
I have decided to upgrade my Marantz Cinema 40 - Hegel 360 (amp for fronts) - Dynaudio (Contour S 5.4 on fronts) multichannel system with subs.
Room is about 320 sqft, music/cinema - approx. 50/50.

Two questions.
1. What difference I could expect between Dynamo series (1100/1600) or BF (210/212). Should I go for single BF, stereo Dynamos or stereo Depths (used)?
2. Manual suggest that in case of single sub I should connect subwoofer using speaker/line level both left/right inputs at once. If I have separate subs, should I connect left sub using left speaker/line level inputs only, and right sub using right speaker/line level inputs? I am willing to try high connections to Hegel (for stereo) and LFE (for cinema) to Marantz.

Not much information about it. Need advice.
Thanks.

 

[JonFo]

My answer to question #1 is that more subs are better, as they allow you to place them where they can balance out the room's modes. Note that this is usually NOT picture-perfect symmetrical placements along the front wall. Per Harman's research, the best for two subs in an enclosed, rectangular room is one each, centered on the front and rear walls.

And #2 is a conundrum, but the best option is to use the Cinema 40 as the pre-pro for the system, wire the Hegel up as an amp-only for the L/R speakers.
Leverage Cinema 40's excellent DSP to cross over the subs and perform room corrections. Use MultEQ-X or Dirac and set up Music and Movies presets in the 40.
This simplifies operation and cabling.

At least the Hegel has a numeric volume level display, so keeping it set to the level you calibrate it at should be easy.

 

[18000rpm]

Cinema 40 supports 4 independent subs. That is probably the most "correct" way to go for home theater use. I believe the subs will receive the same audio input signal, but with independent room correction applied to each.

 

[user 49612]

My canuck cents are that you def want 2 subs. And you want them EQd together, not separately, but need to be able to delay them independently. That is non negotiable. In terms of subs, the BF is a substantial improvement over Dynamos. I'd just get one BF and save up for another later on. The 12 if possible.

 

[JonFo]

I believe the subs will receive the same audio input signal, but with independent room correction applied to each.

It depends on which DRC is used and the modes selected. These modern Denon/Marantz units are pretty slick.

The default included Audyssey MultEQ-XT32, which will independently time-align and level-set each of the subs, but the DRC correction is the sum of all of them.
The .1 is indeed fed to each, but there is a mode where the low-pass from 'small' speakers can be routed to the physically closest sub, which is helpful if the low-pass is set to values higher than 80Hz.

There is the option of using DIRAC DLBC where each sub is tuned independently and then collectively, similar to what a MultiSub Optimizer (MSO) and a miniDSP setup did, but simpler to set up. But DLBC is an extra $500 or so for the license.