Measuring Subwoofer SPL IN-Room

[Haoleb]

I'm Just wondering what methods everyone uses to measure their subwoofer SPL in-room around here. We all hear claims of 120db and so on, I can nearly peg out my RS analog meter, measured 6 inches from the driver. But I'd probably blow my subs up trying to do that in my listening chair.

We need some kind of standard.

Do you use your sweet spot? 1M measurements? or perhaps some corner with a ton of gain to cheat a little?

 

[Adam]

I've never tried to measure maximum output from my sub. When I calibrate, I measure at the two locations that I tend to be when I'm watching a movie.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm Just wondering what methods everyone uses to measure their subwoofer SPL in-room around here. We all hear claims of 120db and so on, I can nearly peg out my RS analog meter, measured 6 inches from the driver. But I'd probably blow my subs up trying to do that in my listening chair.

We need some kind of standard.

Do you use your sweet spot? 1M measurements? or perhaps some corner with a ton of gain to cheat a little?

Nousaine measures at 2 meters, corner loaded
Frequency is important as well. Otherwise, it may be loud at 63Hz, as most are, but peter out as you approach 20 Hz.

 

[WmAx]

I'm Just wondering what methods everyone uses to measure their subwoofer SPL in-room around here. We all hear claims of 120db and so on, I can nearly peg out my RS analog meter, measured 6 inches from the driver. But I'd probably blow my subs up trying to do that in my listening chair.

We need some kind of standard.

Do you use your sweet spot? 1M measurements? or perhaps some corner with a ton of gain to cheat a little?

In a listening room, I think the only measurement that matters is at the listening position.

For true reference measurements, you must do 2M outside ground plane measurements, 50 feet from any large boundaries.

You can get a more standardized format/reliable results inside, if you are not willing to do the outside measurement, and just use the 2M corner load Nousaine method. At least this method provides for somewhat cross comparable results between different rooms.

-Chris

 

[Ron Temple]

Measuring sweeps in room at max output is dangerous. To test my sub, I'll run bass heavy demo material at reference level and measure the fast peaks at the LP. It's not a accurate measure of the sub, but will tell you what you can acheive factoring in placement and room gain. So for example, the emergence scene from WOTW at reference, 3.5 meters LP, I get peaks of 115dbs. There might be a bit more headroom, but I won't go there. Other scenes measure between 110-114dbs...similar results with other demos.