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Subwoofer Placement

B

bmartin

2[H]4U
Joined
Feb 29, 2004
Messages
2,720
I have a dilemma, and maybe its just something I am missing. I can't seem to find the perfect spot for my sub. Problem is, no matter where I seem to put it, the output seems extremely low. Once I leave the room, it is thundering outside. I can hear it hammering away throughout the house (inside and out).

Now, I don't expect it to sound like a car stereo thundering down the road, but I can't figure out how to match it with my nanosats.

So, my questions are:

Aren't front firing subs supposed to sound better when they are positioned farther away? Mine is currently about 9' away from me.

Do you want a Front firing sub to be "toe'd in?" (pointed directly at you) Or would it sound better pointing behind and letting the sound find its way to me?

Since I am having such a difficult time explaining this, I spent my quality time at work in MSPaint drawing this. (Dont steal my artwork!) Hope this can help someone with a hell of a lot more knowledge than me to help me fix my flaws.

While you are at it, if you had this layout, where would you put the sub?

Note My desk actually goes almost all the way to the door. So if I put it there, it would be butted up against the desk, facing the closet directly. No room to toe it in if need be..
room1.png
 
Hmm... front-firing should generally be for HT setups. I would put the sub in front of you (9' is good) and far away generally near the TV and in the corner. Going at it from the side is a bit iffy to me. Not sure how well that would mix.

That's why I don't like front-firing for PC setup. You should get a down-firing so you can just stick it under your desk. Or at least next to it.
 
The best place would be somewhere in front of you. Subs for the most part are omni-directional so as long as its somewhere in front of you, it won't make too much of a difference. 9ft away from you and to the side like that is probably why you get more impact outside the room than inside. I personally think subs sound weird if they're to the side of you like that or behind you (If there's only one sub) but if you can't put it in front of you (ie to the side of or under your desk), I'd try placing it behind you.
 
I agree 100%. I just dont know how to place it. I thought of behind me, but the stand housing my rears is actually a dresser (full of PC parts). I figured since it goes solid to the floor, it would block out the sub's sound. If I put it to the side, I would have the same issue. Maybe I can trade my dad my little klipsch for his definitive tech downfiring. :p
 
Well, I think I have it. I moved my desk about 2' from the wall, and put baker's racks behind it. I placed the sub on the bakers rack, and it fixed the issue. Only thing now is, it sounds like a Logitech sub :(

Time to get a downfiring subby I guess. Should an 8" sub be efficient in a 14'x14' room, hooked up to a Denon AVR1602? If not, I will start searching the 10's. I am looking for the best Price/Performance ratio, on an "I have expensive taste but my company doesn't" budget.
 
What do you mean efficient? Do you mean sufficient? 8" should be sufficient for any PC setup, imo. But, yes, 14' x 14' is relatively small for a subwoofer, depending on how loud you like your music. So an 8" will suffice.
 
The easiest way to place a sub is:

Find the place in the room where bass is loudest as it is currently set up.
Now move the sub there.
Walk round the room and find the loudest places again, it should be even louder or about the same level, not quieter.
Placing your seat in one of these loudest nodes and your sub in another loudest node will give you the best bass.

If your seat cant be moved, do this instead:
Place the sub where your seat is.
Walk round the room and find the loudest bass points.
Place your sub in any one of the loud places.

Its possible that you cant get good bass where your seat is.
 
Alai said:
What do you mean efficient? Do you mean sufficient? 8" should be sufficient for any PC setup, imo. But, yes, 14' x 14' is relatively small for a subwoofer, depending on how loud you like your music. So an 8" will suffice.
Click to expand...

I tend to play my music loud. Too loud, in fact. Not for the speakers, but for my ears.

I just want something that if I decide to drop the receiver to volume 0, it will be able to handle it if need be. I have kids, and they are knob turners and button pushers.

And I put the sub in my chair. The hotspot turns out to be about 2 feet from where I have the sub now.
 
Have you got a large wooden breadboard?
If so, try standing the sub on that.
I have my main sub raised off the floor with a fat breadboard from IKEA, it tightened up the bass nicely :)
 
Put the sub in your seat and get it going. Move around the room until you find the location where the bass is the loudest. Put the sub there.
 
Nenu said:
Have you got a large wooden breadboard?
If so, try standing the sub on that.
I have my main sub raised off the floor with a fat breadboard from IKEA, it tightened up the bass nicely :)
Click to expand...

Thanks, I will take a look into that. Its worth a shot.

Stereodude said:
Put the sub in your seat and get it going. Move around the room until you find the location where the bass is the loudest. Put the sub there.
Click to expand...
bmartin said:
And I put the sub in my chair. The hotspot turns out to be about 2 feet from where I have the sub now.
Click to expand...
 
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