Matching a Sub with the Loudspeakers

[PlumDragon]

What is the general consensus on buying a subwoofer that is part of the same line as the loudpseakers that one buys?

Recently I ask about a set of Jamo speakers. The Jamo line has a subwoofer that is part of the D 4 line of speakers. Is is generally considered a good idea to buy for example, the D 4 sub to match the D 4 loudspeaker?

The set of tannoy Eyris loudspeakers that I will buy doesnt have an Eyris subwoofer to match--would it be a bad idea to grab the Jamo or a PSB sub, or should I probably grab one of the Tannoy subs to preserve the same kind of sound production throught the system?

Thanks in advance!

[kexodusc]

In all honesty, I find there's almost no benefit at all to buying the same brand subwoofer other than looks. I believe looks are important, but color is pretty easy to match up - or at least complement without being an eyesore.

Driver material being the same is a bogus claim, no material behaves the same way with respect to sound at all frequencies.

Quite often you'll find companies that only make subwoofers offer a bit more value/performance than companies with an assortment of products. YMMV.

[audio_dude]

like SVS or HSU

[RoyY51]

Or Outlaw Audio LFM-1 or LFM-2.

[superpanavision70mm]

What about a Velodyne sub?

[Woochifer]

Matching the subwoofer brand with the loudspeaker brand is completely irrelevant because you're dealing with different parts of the frequency spectrum and just because a manufacturer makes nice main speakers does not mean that they will make decent subwoofers.

The most important "matching" consideration with subwoofers is the match with your room. In general, if you have a small room, you will likely want to go with a sealed sub because the room boundary gain effect will work better with the more gradual low end dropoff found on a sealed design. With a larger room, the room boundary effect is not as pronounced and the more linear bass response with a well designed ported sub will probably work better. Of course, there are exceptions, for example Paradigm's sealed 15" Servo 15 will extend well below 20 Hz.

In either case, pay careful attention to the placement and settings. If your room is especially problematic, you will need to consider other measures like room treatments and/or parametric equalization. Equalizing a sub is the quickest (and least expensive) way to get the best performance out of whatever model you wind up buying. There is a learning curve, but IMO it's definitely worthwhile. Here's a link to a very helpful site for using the Behringer Feedback Destroyer to equalize a subwoofer. The BFDs can be found for around $100 and the performance improvement that they produce is higher on the value scale than just about any other device you can add to your system.

http://www.hometheatershack.com/bfdguide/