Sub on floor.

[Obi_Kwiet]

Quick question. Would I get better sound from my Z5500's if I put the sub on the floor instead of 3 ft from the ground?

 

[Fryguy8]

This question cannot be answered without detailed information about the layout and architecture of your room. Subwoofers are VERY placement and room dependant, by far the most sensitive to this of any other speaker. The BEST answer to this question, which sucks, is to experiement and find which you like better.

 

[MantisIT]

...Generally yes they're meant for floors

 

[Pinipig523]

Umm.. they should be on the floor to begin with.

 

[Floruro]

Try this old trick for subwoofer placement:

Put the sub where you normally sit and listen to music. Play bassy stuff, and crawl around the room and find where it sounds best. Put the bass where it sounds best (were you were crawling around), and you will then get the best sound were you sit.

Wrong sub placement can make it sound terrible, so it is very important.

 

[discochan]

Also if you have a hard wood floor put something under the sub so that it doesnt rattle the ground.

 

[gerbiaNem]

Try this old trick for subwoofer placement:

Put the sub where you normally sit and listen to music. Play bassy stuff, and crawl around the room and find where it sounds best. But the bass where it sounds best (were you were crawling around), and you will then get the best sound were you sit.

Wrong sub placement can make it sound terrible, so it is very important.

I did that and it worked like a charm.

 

[legcramp]

Try this old trick for subwoofer placement:

Put the sub where you normally sit and listen to music. Play bassy stuff, and crawl around the room and find where it sounds best. Put the bass where it sounds best (were you were crawling around), and you will then get the best sound were you sit.

Wrong sub placement can make it sound terrible, so it is very important.

wow, I gotta try that.. thanks!

 

[Obi_Kwiet]

There are some pics. Would the sub still be ok, if I put it on the floor where it is, or would that muffle it? I don't have lot of options as to how to do it.

 

[ChingChang]

Have it hang off the ceiling with strings. If you've got one of those ceiling fans, tie it up to that.

Make sure you post pics after it is suspended in the air!

 

[Pinipig523]

A sub is non-directional.... so you dont have to have the woofer face your face.

Just put it on the floor.

 

[biohazard_nz]

it will sound better on the floor. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better

 

[legcramp]

it doesn't sound that much better on the ground... for me at least.. I had it on my desk and ground for testing.. didn't make much of a difference... maybe it's because I had it in a corner hehe

 

[MrE]

The best placement for the sub is in the rear corner of the room. If you look at home theatre setups, most "recommend" placement of the sub be behind your music stage. That is, where your audio sweet spot is. By placing the sub in the rear corner, the lows
shouldn't detract from your overall music but add the 120Hz and below range subs are known for.

Placing the sub 3 feet above the ground and to the side of you will accomplish two things:

a) Will muddy your mid to high range audio
b) Make you go deaf pretty quickly by having a sub that cranks out more than 115db


-E

 

[Fryguy8]

120 is awfully high for a subwoofer to be reproducing typically.

The typically accepted "bound of directionality" for human hearing occurs at 80hz, and most proper subwoofer systems are crossed far lower than this, typically 1.5 octaves.

And even still, a lot of audiophiles prefer the subwoofer up front facing into the room to get a more even distribution of room gain through the passband.

The solution mentioned to "reverse engineer" placement is best, but it results in a lot of rather difficult placements ("it sounds best on the couch, so let's put the subwoofer underneath the couch" etc).

The best solution is to play with placement to see what you like the best. If you want to hang it on a shelf like you've done, and it sounds the best to you, then go for it.

 

[MrE]

120 is awfully high for a subwoofer to be reproducing typically.

Agreed, but 120Hz is where Logitech decided to put its crossover at to simulate "mids" even though there aren't mids with this arrangement. Logitech used a fixed crossover in the sub: http://www.audioholics.com/productreviews/loudspeakers/LogitechZ-5500Speakers01.php

And even still, a lot of audiophiles prefer the subwoofer up front facing into the room to get a more even distribution of room gain through the passband.

This is true if your sub placement for said passband box was placed in a corner where the box is a downward firing sub driver supported with "legs" and not the side mount Logitech uses.

The best solution is to play with placement to see what you like the best. If you want to hang it on a shelf like you've done, and it sounds the best to you, then go for it.

Agreed. It comes down to personal preference. If you like the sub in the soundstage mix, then go for it. Now, if you would like a review of what audio buffs recommend, hit the link I listed above that has a nice review and a speaker placement layout they used for testing.

-E

 

[Fryguy8]

MrE, totally agree, although I've seen quite a few setups with side-facing woofers up front, either directly next to a TV (tower, sub, tv, tower,), facing in one of many directions, or something like

sub in front corner, or directly next to tower, then tv, then the next tower.

I plan on having a front woofer when I get my home theater set up, as for now it's sitting in my bedroom. My subwoofer is a bit bigger than the logitech tho:

http://webpages.charter.net/fryguy

 

[Obi_Kwiet]

That's a humongous sub!

 

[jebo_4jc]

It seems to me that if the sub is crossed so high, it would be good to have it placed up high and pointed toward the listener. That way it acts like a mid.

Sort of...

 

[MrE]

Yes, but remember, by having the crossover that high, you are trying to make up volume
by overpowering one speaker to make up for the lack of mid range. By raising the sub off
of the floor with an SPL of 115, you are going to do long term damage to yourself.

Just find your sweet spot and move the sub to each "potential" location sampling each.
It may take some time and lugging, but it will pay off in the end when all your speakers
sound blended and not muddied.

-E

 

[Obi_Kwiet]

Is there any sort of equalizer program for the whole PC? That would help a good bit.

 

[Hvatum]

Quick question. Would I get better sound from my Z5500's if I put the sub on the floor instead of 3 ft from the ground?

Bolt it to the ceiling, that will get really good sound.

 

[legcramp]

Bolt it to the ceiling, that will get really good sound.

are you serious?

 

[schapman]

I run my home theater sub in the corner next to the tv. The only downside I've had is a) the walls shakign and b) it can sound a bit boomy. The boominess might be more of it being a Home theater sub though and not so much geared towards music (its a ported 10 IIRC)