Subwoofer placement

[in2xshp]

Ok, thanks to you guys for the help in my last post (btw i went with KEF iQ9 for new mains) now i want to reduce the "clutter" around them they are beautiful speakers and i want to relocate my sub to another place in the room. I have a Velodyne VRP 12 and as you all know it's a front firing sub. My question in all of this is if i move it to a side wall will it greatly reduce it's presence in the room? What do i need to do to adjust the system to do this if anything.

 

[markw]

Sub placement is kind of a black art.

you really can't tell what it's gonna sound like until you try it.

And, dollars to donuts, where it sounds best is where it looks worst.

good luck...

 

[Davemcc]

Try moving it into a corner. That's usually a good spot.

 

[Ketsueki]

so what if you live in a geo desic dome like me? then where do you put it, considering you dont really have any 90 degree corners so to speak

 

[Bradleyfs]

I'm getting a new sub and had the typical "best location" question. All the posts I have read on here and other sites (including HSU and Axiom) suggested doing the system where you place the sub in the listening position and then crawling around the room listening to where it sounds best. That place is where you put the sub.

Well last night, in preparation of determining where to put the new sub (as I had to prep in wall wiring), I did it using the old sub. Not surprisingly, the corner turned out to be the best sounding location, however I was surprised at how well and accurately it worked. Not only could I tell the corner sounded the best, but I could really tell a lot of nuances in the sound by crawling in the location I have been using it.

My point is that doing the same seems to work fairly well, thus even though its a pain, you might want to try it (however, from what I understand, 95% of the time the corner is the best - I just had to hear it for myself!)

 

[Matt34]

Ok, thanks to you guys for the help in my last post (btw i went with KEF iQ9 for new mains) now i want to reduce the "clutter" around them they are beautiful speakers and i want to relocate my sub to another place in the room. I have a Velodyne VRP 12 and as you all know it's a front firing sub. My question in all of this is if i move it to a side wall will it greatly reduce it's presence in the room? What do i need to do to adjust the system to do this if anything.

Corner placement will give you the most output, but not necessarily the best output. You might find that the side wall is better, it greatly depends on your room.

An alternative option to Bradleyfs suggestion:

If you have a laptop and a SPL meter, download Room EQ http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/ I haven't used it yet but it appears to be very easy reading the help files.

Place the sub at the main listening position. Now, using the software mentioned measure the frequency response with the SPL meter at various potential spots for the sub. Look at the data and decide where you get the best FR, place the sub there.

Once you have it in it's new position, level match it with the rest of your system. This is a very general guide but should get you started.

 

[Bradleyfs]

Matt's suggestion is much a bettter. It could actually lead you to better sound rather than just louder and perhaps subjectively clearer. The crawling works, but please understand that I am overloaded already with everything I have to learn to get my initial set completed thus I did not want to additionally tackle using software and an SPL meter (however I eventually intend on tweaking my system with one).

 

[Nick250]

My experience is that the corner location caused my to sub sound really boomy. With some experimentation I found best place was on a side wall about one foot out into the room. It still sounded some what boomy. I bought a couple of Tri Traps bass traps and wow! The boomyness is gone and the overall sound quality in the lower frequencies is much improved. An added benefit is that the sub is less location sensitive now.

Nick

 

[KC23]

From reading on the HSU site they mention that for deep base the corner of a room is best, but for better musical bass that nearer to the listener (such as right behind the listener) was best.

 

[in2xshp]

The only corner i really have is almost underneath an end table and between the couch and love seat, right next to the listening area the rese of the room is open to the dining room and the kitchen the other corners are the stairs and the door to the basement, damn split levels. i guess i'll have to try it and hear for myself, my only other option is on a side wall next to the love seat on the other side.

 

[in2xshp]

Corner placement will give you the most output, but not necessarily the best output. You might find that the side wall is better, it greatly depends on your room.

An alternative option to Bradleyfs suggestion:

If you have a laptop and a SPL meter, download Room EQ http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/ I haven't used it yet but it appears to be very easy reading the help files.

Place the sub at the main listening position. Now, using the software mentioned measure the frequency response with the SPL meter at various potential spots for the sub. Look at the data and decide where you get the best FR, place the sub there.

Once you have it in it's new position, level match it with the rest of your system. This is a very general guide but should get you started.

Thanks for the info, i dont have a meter but with this download i will be going out to get one now

 

[no. 5]

so what if you live in a geo desic dome like me? then where do you put it, considering you dont really have any 90 degree corners so to speak

well, I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that just about all that you'll read about sub placement, and room acoustics is based on the notion that everybody lives in a square house, with a listening room that has four parallel walls and a flat ceiling; the acoustics of a dome are a completely deferent animal then the acoustics of a box.

You'll just have to crawl for bass and find a place that works best for you.