Does orientation in the corner matter?

[sharptailhunter]

Does it make a difference which way my sub is facing the corner of my room? Should the woofer be firing into a wall or out into the room? FWIW, my sub is a SVS PB12-Plus. Thanks

 

[6L6X4]

In my room, with my SVS sub, I get much flatter response with the driver firing into the rear wall of a corner rather than out into the room. The difference is big. Fortunately, with a 90 degree power cord and a 90 degree line input adapter I can lean the grill against the rear panel of the sub so it looks good.

YMMV.

 

[MidnightSensi]

Try it both ways, but in my experience the subwoofer is best pointed toward the listener. Pointing toward the wall may increase output, but also may cause distortions, time-issues, and rattles.

 

[jeanseb]

Oh happy day...!

I clearly remember having the same problem with my room. I use to have a single 12" D-Box sub, and putting it so it fires on the wall was the only way to have something barely acceptable. The problem here is that you lose "resolution", or accuracy.

My idea, you need something bigger. Go BIG, at least 12" and 15-18" is ideal. Displacement is the key. Going with twins+ is a good idea too and EQ makes a world of difference.

Think of it like a car. Sure you can have a 4 cyl with 4 turbos on it and it's going to be fast, but it will never have the torque of a good old big Chevy block. Same (or almost the same) with subwoofer.

Good luck!

 

[sharptailhunter]

I clearly remember having the same problem with my room. I use to have a single 12" D-Box sub, and putting it so it fires on the wall was the only way to have something barely acceptable.

I appreciate your response but my sub is anything but "barely accetable." I probably should have prefaced my original post by saying that I love the thing and the bass it provides. The reason why I asked is because it sounds so good and hits so hard already, I couldn't imagine that changing the orientation could make it sound aprreciably any better.

Thanks to all who replied.

 

[j_garcia]

I think he was talking about HIS sub at the time being barely acceptable, not yours.

The real answer is, it will depend on your room, but generally speaking, firing out into the room is typically better. My Tempest is down firing, so I get pretty good overall response, but one of the front firing 15", front ported subs I tested sounded better firing at the wall. As mentioned, try some different things and see what works the best for you.

 

[Cpt.America]

but one of the front firing 15", front ported subs I tested sounded better firing at the wall.

That is because it turns that entire wall into a speaker of sorts as it fires agaisnt it, so it would appear to increase output, but there is no way it would give you a cleaner, more accurate sound.... probably quite the opposite.

 

[6L6X4]

It's more a matter of room geometry. In my room, with the sub facing into the room there is a bass null between 50hz and 100hz at the listening position. With the sub in the same location, except reversed so the driver faces the rear wall the null disappears and I get very even bass all the way down to 25hz.

I wouldn't have thought such a small change in driver location would make such a dramatic improvement, but it did.

 

[j_garcia]

That is because it turns that entire wall into a speaker of sorts as it fires agaisnt it, so it would appear to increase output, but there is no way it would give you a cleaner, more accurate sound.... probably quite the opposite.

It changed the output at frequencies that were originally an issue, so while it may not be quite as accurate, it did end up sounding smoother. I have a high angled ceiling, so a front firing sub can't point down the longest leg of my room or I get a big collection of bass behind me. The longest leg of the room is what you normally want so that the first waves have a chance to set up before the first reflections. Bouncing it immediately off the wall changes how those waves behave in the room. With sub frequencies, accuracy isn't as critical as with higher frequencies, since in most cases you are NEVER hearing a single, continuous wave anyway as even a 30Hz wave is as long as most people's room.