Subwoofer behind TV

[xterminator]

Well, I'm planning to set-up a nice HT5.1 system.
The placement of my surround speakers is pretty straight-forward.
The only thing that puzzles me is the placement of my sub.

I'm thinking of placing it behind the flat-tv.
I have some sort of 'open space' behind it.
The down thing is, it's completly enclosed on all sides.
As you will see from my (professional ) drawing.
The only opening it has is below the television. It has height of 23 cm and a width of 1,10 meters. also, my AV-reciever & dvd player is placed in this opening, underneath my tv.

Drawing of my room: users.telenet.be/xterminator/dwg.jpg
Detail of the TV-Sub Placement: users.telenet.be/xterminator/dwg_detail.jpg
Side-view (cross-cut) of TV-Sub Placement: users.telenet.be/xterminator/dwg_side.jpg

Is this a good placement for my sub, or a definite NO NO?

Greetings.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Subwoofers are fairly tricky to place, and while there are some good predictions that can be made based upon room dimensions and shape, ultimately you won't know until you try it.

Generally, tucking subwoofers into spaces like that can cause unsavory resonances and putting subwoofers directly in the middle of two parallel walls can cause a lot of constructive and destructive wave interference, making peaks and dips in response. Peaks can sometimes be tamed using an equalizer, but dips can be impossible (because increasing the level only increases the problem).

So what does that mean for you? Well, if you can deal with the subwoofer elsewhere, you might want to try it. If you need to hide it, behind the couch might work well, because you'll be able to move it along that wall.

For trying different placements, read this article:

http://www.audioholics.com/tweaks/speaker-setup-guidelines/crawling-for-bass-subwoofer-placement

...it's by far the easiest and most effective method for initial placement of subwoofers.

Best!

 

[xterminator]

Thanks for the reply.

Knowing this, I'm having another set-up in my mind.
In stead of buying a relatively large sub, I'm thinking of buying two smaller ones, that fit nicely beside my couch.
One on each side, in the corner.
The room itself measures 3,20m x 5,60m (keeping in mind that another room of approximately the same measurements is connected via a large opening, as seen in the drawing)
The sub's I would like to use for this set-up, are the Yamaha NS-SW210 types.
yamaha.com/yec/products/productdetail.html?CNTID=5019679&CTID=5003300
I'm figuring that I'll better do with 2 subs, working on (less then) half their capacity, in stead of one, running on it's edge.

I'm I making some sense here, or is it overkill / making it worse with 2 than 1?

 

[dapack69]

Save your money and get different subs than those. Yamaha does not make very good subs at all.

 

[xterminator]

Any recommendation in the same price-category?

 

[dapack69]

I'm going to admit that I can't, I'm not that much of an expert.

I just know that yamaha's sub's suck. I have there top of the line and my 10 year old Velodyne kills it.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Any recommendation in the same price-category?

In that price range Dayton subs are a great value:

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=300-635

 

[dapack69]

See an expert has answered your question.

 

[AVRat]

His options are probably more limited depending on where he lives.

 

[djreef]

I'm going to admit that I can't, I'm not that much of an expert.

I just know that yamaha's sub's suck. I have there top of the line and my 10 year old Velodyne kills it.

I gotta go with this, as well. Yamaha subs aren't very good.

DJ

 

[MatthewB.]

I love the idea of using dual subs over one, not only for a 3db higher sound level using the same levels, but also for combatting null voids that one sub can cause. Your best bet though is to use the subs in a stereo sub configuration and placing them next to each of your mains.

As mentioned placement is key and only you will be able to use placement in your individual room to acheive great bass. remember that all rooms have certain areas that cancel each other out greatly with bass, so if you place the subs and the bass is very lackluster, moving it just a foot or two can make all the difference.

I have a SVS NSD 12/2 sub and when placed up front the bass was lacking up front, but when the sub was placed in back the bass was lacking up front. So i bought DefTech BP7001s towers with built in 10" subs up front and placed my sub in back, so now I get overall great bass up front and in back. In fact I have my mains crossed at 40Hz and bought a seperate 10" sub hooked up to my center channel only (also at 40Hz) and have my SVS handle all the real low (below 40Hz) in the back of the room. The result is using three seperate companies for sub duty has resulted in no cancellations of frequencies (because the mains and center have dedicated channels only going down to 40Hz and the SVS handles all the speakers below 40Hz) for intense and very quick and clean bass

Granted tuning all the different subs to match all the others took alot of trail and error, but when you get more than one sub, and can have them "match" each other, the effect is just short of amazing.

Next best advice I can give is make sure you place the subs on Gramma pads and enjoy room shaking, mid chest thumping, asthma triggering bass.