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ADVANTAGES
:
You'll get more headroom from each subwoofer because now there isn't a single, summed signal
of LFE and redirected bass going into both subwoofers. Each subwoofer only has to handle it's
own, discrete signal. You'll have control of the LFE volume independent of the redirected bass
volume during playback of any source that contains LFE signal.
During movie playback, you can switch your Pre/Pro or Receiver to digital mode (instead of direct
bypass mode). This will send the single, summed bass signal (LFE + Redirected bass) to
subwoofer #2 because the digital cable from your player to your Pre/Pro or Receiver contains the
LFE signal (this cannot be avoided, BTW). This will usually boost the low frequency output by
approximately 6 dB. You may have to lower the gain of subwoofer #2 in this mode, depending
on its capability.
You will reduce distortions of every kind. You'll notice a tighter, less 'bloated' sound in the low
frequency reproduction of your system when playing any source that contains LFE information.
You'll be able to have a bottom feeding LFE monster and a tight, musical subwoofer in the same
system, as, contrary to some subwoofer manufacturer's hype, one subwoofer design cannot do
both exceptionally well.
When playing music formats, if you have a 'musical' subwoofer for redirected bass, you can
reduce the volume of the LFE subwoofer, or, in the case of the stereo CD format, there will be no
information sent to the LFE subwoofer. This will notch up your enjoyment of music listening
quite a bit, with little or no tweaking needed when switching between different formats.
NOTE:
Some Pre/Pros and Receivers don't add the 10 dB boost (actually, it's 15 dB of boost, but that's
another discussion for another time) that's required of the LFE signal in movie watching when in
bypass mode, assuming it's being done in the player. This may mean that in direct bypass mode, you
won't have this boost added. You will then have to adjust the level of your LFE subwoofer to
compensate. Since 10 dB is a lot of boost, you'll usually be able to tell immediately if this is the case,
and add the boost.
