Subwoofer crawl for 2 subs question

R

RussellS

Enthusiast
Ok, so the day has arrived for beginning the home theater setup. From what I have read and watched, subwoofer crawl is the way to find the best starting point for a subwoofer in a room. A layout outside the norm, but all I have to work with...
floorplan small.jpg


I have a 10' wall (at 12:00) to place 75" TV and will run a 5.2 setup with a sofa in the middle of the room. Every wall on the 9:00 side is glass to 7' and the ceiling slopes upward from the 12:00 wall from 9' to over 12' just behind the listening area.

My question is about determining locations for 2 subwoofers: Once the first sub placement is found, is the procedure repeated for the second sub?

Not the easiest room for a beginner, thus my asking for guidance.

Thanks
 
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nbk13nw

nbk13nw

Full Audioholic
Mark all of the locations you find that sound good. I used masking tape, so you can place your subs in those locations as dictated by sound and aesthetics
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
When you set your sub (1 single) up in your LP, look for your 3-4 best placement options while doing the crawl. Mark them as you find them. For me, my preference is to not have them on the front wall, but asymmetriclly placed around the room. Just looking at your drawing, I kind of like the 6' wall to the Rt of the LP, possibly close to the bar. Near-Field behind the couch is a possibility. I also like the left side. Experiment with the corner, but my instinctual preference might be that wall opposite the fireplace, closer to the surround than your left wall. :)
When it comes to learning how to listen, make sure all your speakers are off, and I recommend starting near a corner, and moving in and out of it. You should hear the effect of "Corner Loading:" it will get louder as you get closer to the corner. The big question is does it get boomy or muddy? Regardless, as you get used to the sound changes, you'll be able to crawl around, with your ear "near where the woofer would be" and get a sense of what works well and what doesn't.
I might have spent close to an hour just learning what to listen to. Hopefully my experience can help shorten that time for you. ;) I tried, test tones, rhythmic test tones, pink noise, and music. I found music worked best for me. I used the Gorillaz album, Laika Come Home, but another strong recommendation is Daft Punk Get Lucky.

****was literally gonna hit send yesterday when some fool crashed into a telephone pole... took out electricity until around 4 am!
Anyway... here it is, better late than never! :)
 
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R

RussellS

Enthusiast
When you set your sub (1 single) up in your LP, look for your 3-4 best placement options while doing the crawl. Mark them as you find them. For me, my preference is to not have them on the front wall, but asymmetriclly placed around the room. Just looking at you drawing, I kind of like the 6' wall tou thr Rt of the LP, possibly close to the bar. Near-Field behind the couch is a possibility. I also like the left side. Experiment with the corner, but my instinctual preference might be that wall opposite the fireplace, closer to the surround than your left wall. :)
When it comes to learning how to listen, make sure all your speakers are off, and I recomend starting near a corner, and moving in and out of it. You should hear the effect of "Corner Loading:" it will get louder as you get closer to the corner. The big question is does it get boomy or muddy? Regardless, as you get used to the sound changes, you'll be able to crawl around, with your ear "near where the woofer would be" and get a sense of what works well and what doesn't.
I might have spent close to an hour just learning what to listen to. Hopefully my experience can help shorten that time for you. ;) I tried, test tones, rhythmic test tones, pink noise, and music. I found music worked best for me. I used the Gorillaz album, Laika Come Home, but another strong recommendation is Daft Punk Get Lucky.

****was literally gonna hit send yesterday when some fool crashed into a telephone pole... took out electricity until around 4 am!
Anyway... here it is, better late than never! :)

Thanks for the suggestions!

I am just starting with one sub plugged in and looking for some digital files online to use. Will be easier to use a thumb drive for this task. (speakers and amp have not arrive back from Magnepan upgrade yet and a new amp is on order, so all I have is subs and satellites)

I figured just having a couch and a sub in the room would be an easy way to start the crawl anyway. That gives me the option to crawl from the 9:00 wall all the way around to 3.00 and see what I hear.

Glad your power is back too.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Sounds good!
Check everywhere, and keep your ears and mind open to the possibilities. :D

Glad your power is back too.
Right?!! The lady and I left to go get some food... nothing to do here with the power out. Drove past the scene... This was not an easy task, what the driver did. SUV plowed through roughly 20' of brush and took down the utility pole. They must've been driving way to fast and then tried to dodge a deer or a squirrel and straight up lost control. Holiday weekend... possibly drunk. Who knows!
But some 12 hours with no power!!!

Cheers!
 
R

RussellS

Enthusiast
Tried the sub crawl for a couple hours with just one sub. Interesting results. Used a bass lesson disk. I was surprised how far these were from where I had them for a stereo setup. This is the initial placement I found for two JL Audio F110 subs. They are at 2:00 and 8:00 and marked by a $.
Sub crawl results.jpeg
 
sven1olaf

sven1olaf

Audioholic
Tried the sub crawl for a couple hours with just one sub. Interesting results. Used a bass lesson disk. I was surprised how far these were from where I had them for a stereo setup. This is the initial placement I found for two JL Audio F110 subs. They are at 2:00 and 8:00 and marked by a $. View attachment 30016
That looks like it should work nicely.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
The sub itself should not change the results. This is all about room acoustics. When you drop in new subs, you should not experience anything different other than what the subs deliver... higher output, cleaner bass, lower distortion, etc. ;)

Nice work, by the way.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
The sub itself should not change the results. This is all about room acoustics. When you drop in new subs, you should not experience anything different other than what the subs deliver... higher output, cleaner bass, lower distortion, etc. ;)

Nice work, by the way.
That could be dependent on a particular sub's response....
 
R

RussellS

Enthusiast
I ran those subs with a stereo setup for nearly 7 years along the wall at 12:00. Hard to believe I spent that much time with the subs in the wrong location....:oops:
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
That could be dependent on a particular sub's response....
True... different specific frequencies will excite different room modes. My suspicion is when it comes to everyday usage, say 40-80Hz... basically that bottom octave of a Bass, there won't be much variation in the room. Perhaps that is an oversimplification and as I get more experience I will learn differently. I am open to that ! :)
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
True... different specific frequencies will excite different room modes. My suspicion is when it comes to everyday usage, say 40-80Hz... basically that bottom octave of a Bass, there won't be much variation in the room. Perhaps that is an oversimplification and as I get more experience I will learn differently. I am open to that ! :)
The room will remain a constant but the subs won't necessarily....look at various sub measurements in that range.
 
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