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Placement of Single Subwoofer Affecting Sound of Main Speakers

Due to a recent furniture arrangement in the room, the subwoofer that was sitting dormant for several years had been reluctantly reinstated in the main system. I have been experimenting with the placement of the sub in the room. Due to limited placement options, the sub can only be placed in these 3 spots ;

1. In one corner of the room, very close to the side and rear wall (1 or 2 inches from the walls)

2. Just behind the left speaker, 5 inches from the rear wall

3. In between the speakers but very close to the left speaker, not at the centre of speakers.

 

To cut to the chase, I’ve briefly tried all options. The 1st option with the sub placed in the corner of the room gave the worst result. Now, the interesting part. Even though the sub was turned off, the sound quality of the system degraded. It appears that the physical presence of the box in the corner of the room made the sound worse.

I am currently settled with the 2nd option and this configuration sounds much better than the 1st option irrespective of the sub powered up or down.

The sub is currently on spikes as I’m still waiting for some Nobsound springs to arrive before I can plonk the sub on these.

I’ll be trying the 3rd option again although the WAF is the worst on this one.

Has anyone here experienced a worse sound quality from the system with the placement of the sub in the room? A sub that’s switched off and not working.

ryder
jrpnde
271 posts
 

The previously mentioned "crawl" method does have some credibility. Also the "swarm" setup may be the optimum option for using subs but since you are limited to only using a single sub that option is out.

Sub integration into any system/setup is one of the most challenging for audio/HT listening, A sub can offer so much enhancement to any system if done right. I have read MANY  posts since I once faced the same challenge. After reading about a lot of different scenarios people on this forum several times I have responded with a link that explains almost everything about subs. It's lengthy and quite technical bit if you look through the info you may find something that helps......

http://www.soundoctor.com/whitepapers/subs.htm

 

 

 

fatdaddy2
369 posts
 

If you only have three (?) locations for the sub that "work" (WAF at work here?) but none of them really work, get rid of the sub unless you're willing to find the actual optimum position for the sub sonically.  Placement in the wrong position in the room can result in bass suck-out and a non-integrated sound that is worse than no sub.

snapsc
666 posts
 

One other possibility in those locations is to move the sub up off the floor a foot or two and see what happens.

Also, if you don’t have a room measuring system, try this:

if you have a tv in your listening room that can connect to your audio system and to YouTube you can run a frequency sweep video and listen from your seated position and you will hear the peaks and nulls. Then move your sub around and see what changes… hopefully the room isn’t too bad and you can improve things at the listening position with slight moves left right forward backward or up off the floor… and you might find the solution by moving the mains or even the seating position just a few inches as well.

Good Luck

 

 

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larry5729's avatar
larry5729
1,003 posts
 

What components do you have?  What subwoofers do you own?  What is the size of your room?  Sounds like you don’t have room for your subs anyway?

musicaddict
370 posts
 

I don't know anything about your sub but I'd still try to set the crossover low like you have been. I really enjoyed one REL Britannia B1 sub set deep in a corner away from both speakers but crossed at 30Hz or so.

My main speakers go way low (not high passed yet) but B1 sub made the bottom two octaves fill in for a solid foundation that was very enjoyable from my singular listening position. I even achieved a +- 2dB from 31-200hz in the 'seat'. It was smooth and deep.

I've since moved to three sealed SVS subs for a distributed bass array and need to get one more sometime soon so as to have four total. (I still have to explain what the two old RELs and single DefTech subs are for... (TV and home theater rooms, 2).

I'd try in between the mains. I did that twenty years ago and it worked well in another home.  Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

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