Subwoofer Advice.

[quiksr20]

Hello All,

Eventually I will be looking to purchase a new sub but right now I really cant afford to. So what im looking for in the mean time is ways to improve the sound of the sub I have.

I have a Klipsch KSW 12 ( i know its not the most musical ) But on HT its not too bad for my setup.

Its a down firing ported subwoofer sitting on carpet. Its currently on the front left of my room. ( was in corner but neighbors complained ) I live in a condo.

Heres a pic.

Now would purchasing one of those slabs of granite to put under the sub help? Will the carpet absorb some of the sound ? ( im a novice ) Is there any other alternatives if this is a good idea.

How far should it be from the wall so the port isnt disrupting the sound.

And lastly is it best to set the gain on the sub at like 1/2 and then go up from the receiver? Currently i have the sub on 7 of 12 and the receiver at 0.

Thanks in advance for any help.

Daryl Gregg

 

[TLS Guy]

Bass leakage

Unfortunately, unless the walls of you condo are rebuilt, you are going to have bass penetration, and annoy your neighbors. Do your condo units have any shared air or heating ducts? Because if they do, you are in big trouble with sound penetration. Really the only practical solution is to keep the volume down.

What you put in the vicinity of the sub will not help much, as bass wavelengths are so large.

Many apartments and condos have covenants baning subs. Big bass in multi dwelling buildings is just a big problem unless the building was carefully designed and built from an acoustic isolation point of view.

 

[fmw]

I doubt a stone slab is a meaningful addition. The problem with the less expensive subs is enclosure vibration and resonance. You want the speaker cones doing most of the vibration. A slab won't fix that.

The best way to set up a sub is with a collection of test tones on a CD and an inexpensive sound pressure or db meter. What you want is as flat a frequency response as you can achieve. Playing the various test tones (different frequencies) and dialing the sub crossover point and level up and down will get you as close as you can get by reading the sound pressure level at each frequency. There is no better way for accuracy. If you just want high level bass, then that's another matter.

 

[Davemcc]

One good way to solve this is to move the sub behind or beside your listening location. When the sub is placed nearfield, you can run the volume much lower than when it is across the room.

 

[quiksr20]

Thanks Guys, I was in an apt. for the last 4 years with no issues from anyone.

In my condo I do not have shared duct heating. I only have one neighbor who complains every now and again the others are fine. I am a corner unit, So i own the whole corner and the sub is almost in the middle of the condo now.

We dont play it super loud real late. Do you think im helping at all by taking the sub out of the corner that resonates the wall right into there unit?

Heres a diagram on where the sub was and where i moved it too. The picture shows the new location. In the corner it seemed much louder and garnered many more complaints.

Thanks Again!

 

[Davemcc]

I see from your diagram that placing the sub behind the couch puts it closer to the complainers. No good. Can you place it between the end of the couch and the window, or do you need to walk through that space? If you can try it, see how much quieter you can run the sub and still get the same effect at the listening position.

In response to a couple other questions, the carpet will do nothing to absorb bass waves, but corner placement can have the effect of exciting room modes and causing certain frequencies to be much louder than others. You have probably gone a long way helping yourself by getting it out of the corner.

 

[quiksr20]

Dave,

I can try it by the window, But then it will be closer to the people and close to the wall that goes to there place.

The only other issue is i have no way to get the wires over to it. On HT it sounds fine where it is. Just it doesnt seem as muscial ( its not a musical sub to begin with ) as it was in the corner.

Taking from the corner definatly seemed to be the right thing to do as far as the neighbors go. I will try to tune it a little better in its current location.

" I went to there place and told them : I have moved my stereo around please let me know if theres still a problem "

The guy said no problem will do and I havent heard from them yet. The first and only time they complained it was in the corner and pretty cranked. And the guy sent his wife over haha.

 

[TLS Guy]

Thanks Guys, I was in an apt. for the last 4 years with no issues from anyone.

In my condo I do not have shared duct heating. I only have one neighbor who complains every now and again the others are fine. I am a corner unit, So i own the whole corner and the sub is almost in the middle of the condo now.

We dont play it super loud real late. Do you think im helping at all by taking the sub out of the corner that resonates the wall right into there unit?

Heres a diagram on where the sub was and where i moved it too. The picture shows the new location. In the corner it seemed much louder and garnered many more complaints.

Thanks Again!

Keep it as far away from he neighbors as possible.