1091a - Weak bass! - Forum

I own a set of 2029B monitors with the 1091a sub in my small recording studio. For the longest time, I've had trouble with the 1091 sub. I have found placement troublesome in both of 2 rooms I've used it in, and the bass is nearly non-existent. I'm not sure if there is something wrong with the sub or if acoustics in both rooms are to blame.

The room (currently) is 11x13x8, and I notice that at a listening height of about 3', the bass is improved but at a more reasonable sitting-in-a-chair height of 4', its like the sub isn't even there. There is some low frequency extension, but just barely. I've read a couple threads where some folks are underwhelmed with the performance of the 1091, but I find it very hard to believe that a Genelec product would be THIS bad.

In my newest room, I decided I was not going to skimp on acoustic treatment, so I built 4" corner traps on the front wall, floor to ceiling. I was hoping this lack of bass was a result of nulls and the bass traps would help. To my dismay, the response was not noticeably better than in the old room.

The sub does not produce any strange noises or distortion, when you're in JUST in the right spot (standing over it, about 5' high) it does sound clean and solid. Is it possible that there is something wrong with the sub that's causing the low output? How can I find a local (Orlando, FL area) Genelec service location that might be able to just go through the unit and check it out? After all, I did buy the 1091 used, and now I wonder if this is why the seller wanted to get rid of it...

In the short term, I have a Klipsch KW-100 sub I'm going to swap in there the next time I go to the studio, and see how it performs. I hate to point the finger at the 1091 itself, but if a $300 consumer sub clobbers it, then it's time to figure out whether the 1091 sucks that bad or if it just needs repair. I've seen good reviews from Mix Magazine, so I'm hoping for the latter.