Regardless of the SUB, in question, "room treatment " or NOT .
Room Placement is No Less, if Not MORE critical, than for your Monitors.
In Most cases, You would Never place Those in a Corner.
Yet for Subs, that " Home Theater " approach persists !
Getting a SUB, to boost It's output by Corner Placement:
Boosts & exaggerates the 300 hz region (for sure) That's easy. But terrible for Music !
Stands (As They may have to be taken off the floor ? That is Design permitting.
As those with Downward Firing Woofers DON'T )
and or Isolation systems, may be required.
I prefer Room Coupling with Spikes or pointy studs. (But, Isolation on the Monitors, themselves)
I humbly suggest, that since Placement is paramount; that a even modest "home sub"
ie. the Andrew Jones designed - Pioneer SW-8mkII ( 8''sub - $160 List Price) will Out Perform All the Pro Subs mentioned here, If critical placement is called into play .... just sayin' ;)
edit - I apologize for turning this into a Primer.
But money, can Only be well spent; If one is making an informed decision.
Many Rooms in our homes are less than Ideal. More often then Not, a Room may have Bass Nodes .... Standing Waves. Anomalies which Don't have a simple EQ fix.
A method that does break - up Standing Waves, is the use of Stereo Sub Woofers.
(do - able , with the Pioneers, at just over $300 !)
Added PROS: NOT only are You pushing 2Xs More Air,
an additional increase of 3db , across the Sub's bandwidth.
Meaning, You can turn down the Subs Volume "a notch" and get a bump in Dynamic Range,
with less Harmonic Distortion, than Using a single "sum mono" Sub.
None of these methods alone, are a miracle cure.
But Hiding the SUB, in the Corner is a DON'T.
The Sub, has It optimal 'spot'.
At times, positioning the Sub closer to satellites, is a necessity, to achieve the proper level of intergration , with the Monitors (Crossover Point dependent)
It would appear that the notion that , " Subs are always 'décor friendly", is really a Myth.
edit - I apologize for turning this into a Primer. But money, can Only be well spent; If one is making an informed decision. Many Rooms in our homes are less than Ideal. More often then Not, a Room may have Bass Nodes .... Standing Waves. Anomalies which Don't have a simple EQ fix. A method that does break - up Standing Waves, is the use of Stereo Sub Woofers. (do - able , with the Pioneers, at just over $300 !) Added PROS: NOT only are You pushing 2Xs More Air, an additional increase of 3db , across the Sub's bandwidth. Meaning, You can turn down the Subs Volume "a notch" and get a bump in Dynamic Range, with less Harmonic Distortion, than Using a single "sum mono" Sub. None of these methods alone, are a miracle cure. But Hiding the SUB, in the Corner is a DON'T. The Sub, has It optimal 'spot'. At times, positioning the Sub closer to satellites, is a necessity, to achieve the proper level of intergration , with the Monitors (Crossover Point dependent) It would appear that the notion that , " Subs are always 'décor friendly", is really a Myth.