Active sub woofer placement

[ballistic]

Hey guys, well this being my first real attempt at a descent home theatre system I actually have know idea what I am doing . My system consists of a Denon AVr-1611 reciever, LG Bluray player, Mission MV-8 fronts, MV-DS surrounds, MV-c centre, Wharfedale SW380 sub and yes I know it's to big for the rest of the system, LG 42" 3D led and standard no name branded cables. Flooring consists of laminated wood sheets. One of my numerous problems is finding the right position for the sub. Because of not having a referance system to listen to I find it difficult to know wot I need to listen for and more or less where to place the speakers and sub. Now as mentioned, the problem I have is my active sub has differant levels of bass intensities at diffreant places in the living room. I get more bass on the right side and away from the sub than at the main listening position. So my question is this, how do I know where to place it. I would think that the correct place would be when I have a uniform bass response all across the room. Or at least at the main listening position. Your feedback or links would be greatly appriciated.

PS: If you guys need a rough drawing of the living room I could supply it.

 

[TerryO]

I'm brand new here, but I've messed around with subwoofers a bit. First thing to understand is that you can't achieve good bass everywhere in the room with only one subwoofer. If your main speakers have decent low bass output, that will help augment the subwoofer. With a single sub you'll have to do some work to find the best location for the subwoofer (and it may not be in a location that's acceptable to everyone, ie., wives, girlfriends and interior designers!). The hit or miss system can work, but it can take a lot of time and effort. One method that can help is to locate the subwoofer in the exact location that you'll be sitting while listening to music. Then, with the sub playing, move around the room until you find a spot where the bass seems well balanced and smooth. That's probably the best spot for locating your subwoofer. I hesitate to bring up multiple subwoofers used in a "Distributed Bass" layout, other than to note that the use of 3 or 4 subwoofers can give you very even, smooth bass pretty much anywhere in the room. They don't need to be expensive, as they share the total output and don't require premium drivers to achieve excellent results.

Best Regards,
TerryO

 

[rud3dawg]

.... Ahem...

Subwoofer crawl should be a basic step for your Subwoofer placement

then you worry about the logistics.. ie.. wives, girlfriends and interior designers!). and good bass effect is achievable if the room is acoustically well built or atleast if you follow some basic requirements.. please do search the forum to unravel tonnes of treasure..
Hope you get success!!!

 

[Audioman]

The bass of a well placed subwoofer should seamlessly integrate with the sound of the main speakers for natural reproduction of music.

Best is to put the subwoofer close to the main speakers, preferably a bit off-center against the same wall your main speakers are against. Even though bass below 80Hz is not directional, you will get a better blending between the main speakers and the subwoofer if they are all on the same side of the room. Locating your subwoofer along a room wall will produce less perceived output than in a corner, but with a somewhat smoother response.

Although corner placement will yield more bass, it will also induce more standing waves within the room and may result in slightly uneven low frequency response. But there is nothing wrong with locating the subwoofer in the corner if that is the only practical option

In both above cases, make sure you calibrate the subwoofer level, phase controls and roll-off filters. Phase adjustment ensures the bass driver on the sub and the bass driver of the front speakers move in and out in sync with each other. The roll-off filter adjustment will ensure a flat frequency response, whether the subwoofer is placed off-center against a large wall, or in the room corner

 

[TerryO]

.... Ahem...

Subwoofer crawl should be a basic step for your Subwoofer placement

then you worry about the logistics.. ie.. wives, girlfriends and interior designers!). and good bass effect is achievable if the room is acoustically well built or atleast if you follow some basic requirements.. please do search the forum to unravel tonnes of treasure..
Hope you get success!!!

Thanks for the lecture and the video. However, I noticed that the video spent approximately 5 minutes going into what I (too briefly ?) mentioned in a couple of sentences.

I hasten to add that no single subwoofer will ever equal what a decent "Distributed Bass" system can accomplish in any normal room. However, if you listen outdoors...then you won't benefit from a Distributed Bass system.

Best Regards,
TerryO

 

[TerryO]

I'll just reiterate what I stated above, that smooth, even bass throughout your room can only be achieved with a "Distributed Bass" system, using a minimum of three (or four) subwoofers. It's not just idle conjecture on my part, merely applied Physics.

If you're just getting started you may not want to go to that level, but it certainly works well in defeating the Eigenmodes which are present in "any" enclosed space.

Best Regards,
TerryO