forward v. downward firing subs

[christhemac]

Can someone please explain (to this newbie) the pro and cons of forward v. downward firing subs? Which is "better"? Thanks.

 

[MacManNM]

Can someone please explain (to this newbie) the pro and cons of forward v. downward firing subs? Which is "better"? Thanks.

Sonically they are about the same. Forward tend to look nicer IMO. And the down firing, are more difficult to damage. That’s about it.

 

[newfmp3]

yeah not much difference. I do prefer the looks of a front firing. Although I bought a down firing. Some say a down firing is easier to place in a room given that it's not so picky. Some say front firing are better because it doesn't matter if you have carpet or hardwood whereas an exposed down firing sub like my HSU VTF3 is intended for carpet. That being said while my room is being done downstairs, the sub is up stairs on hardwood and it still sounds awesome.

 

[soundruid]

Foward vs Down firing

While the general belief that foward vs down firing subs are the same is generally true I would like to add some finer points.

A Down firing subwoofer will not perform as well as a front firing sub if you are streching its upper frequency range (above 100Hz). Lets say to match up with some small to micro size sattelites. With that said in a medium to large home theater setup they make it so that placement is not as critical and of course your 4 year old will have a harder time of poking a hole in it with a phillips head screwdriver. As far as carpet vs solid flooring I can only say that solid flooring is reflective so you will probably get more in room db however it will be echoed. Carpeting will absorb a lot of your subwoofers energy depending on how much padding you may have. Some subwoofer design have a solid or reflective plate built into the design. With proper wall and ceiling treatment it is posible to get the best of both worlds.

 

[christhemac]

great input!....thanks to all.

great input!....thanks to all.

 

[MacManNM]

While the general belief that foward vs down firing subs are the same is generally true I would like to add some finer points.

A Down firing subwoofer will not perform as well as a front firing sub if you are streching its upper frequency range (above 100Hz). Lets say to match up with some small to micro size sattelites. With that said in a medium to large home theater setup they make it so that placement is not as critical and of course your 4 year old will have a harder time of poking a hole in it with a phillips head screwdriver. As far as carpet vs solid flooring I can only say that solid flooring is reflective so you will probably get more in room db however it will be echoed. Carpeting will absorb a lot of your subwoofers energy depending on how much padding you may have. Some subwoofer design have a solid or reflective plate built into the design. With proper wall and ceiling treatment it is posible to get the best of both worlds.

This is true; however, if you are using a higher freq cutoff you would need 2 subs. At those higher frequencies imaging becomes an issue.