Can Subs be places in open shelf?

nipunkx

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Can a sub-woofer be placed inside a open wooden shelf?

Please see the attached image. I am planning to build one unit like this one where the sub can be placed below the center channel, but in a different rack. Please give your suggestion.
 

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Hi,

I have seen some place Bose acoustic mass AM5 subwoofer being placed as a hideway bass module...

If you are using a front firing or down firing woofer, the entire cabinet will get vibrations and players may start skipping in playback...things placed on this shelf will move and fall..

Why not place it at the side of this unit? Either left or right? Again it all depends on what sub size is being used...

All the best
 
Thanks a lot for giving your valuable inputs Efernand1.
Why not place it at the side of this unit? Either left or right? Again it all depends on what sub size is being used...

All the best
I am planning to place floor standing front speakers in the two sides of this shelf. so that place gets accommodated. And that fills my back wall against which the TV unit is kept.
Will it be fine if the sub rests on the floor in the exact same position ? What i meant is - if I remove the wood in which the sub is originally resting in the picture, and make the bottom open in that particular rack, the sub can rest in the floor, making it detached from other portions of the shelf. Does that sound fine? Any other suggestion is mostly welcome.
 
I am doing exactly the same thing which you just mentioned (remove the wood in which the sub is originally resting in the picture, and make the bottom open in that particular rack, the sub can rest in the floor) and I think that should be fine since the sub is not directly touching the cabinet in any way.

Let me know how it works for you.
 
Hi Nipun,

My younger brother has done that...as long as you ensure enough space for the sub...considering the cables and switches etc...it should be fine......you can place a small piece of carpet for the sub to stay intact in its place and also produce better thump n punch
 
Can a sub-woofer be placed inside a open wooden shelf?

Please see the attached image. I am planning to build one unit like this one where the sub can be placed below the center channel, but in a different rack. Please give your suggestion.

Not ideally recommended. The reason being, the low frequencies are more uni directional than those of speakers. Subs need room around them to perform at their best. Enclosing them would result in amplified bass response with a lot of boom to it. Also, is that the perfect location to place the sub considering your room acoustics?

MaSh
 
Can the center channel be placed as shown in the image? Or is it always good to keep the center above the shelf resting on the top wood of the shelf?
 
I am doing exactly the same thing which you just mentioned (remove the wood in which the sub is originally resting in the picture, and make the bottom open in that particular rack, the sub can rest in the floor)
@pushkarajd: Did you try it out? If yes how is the effect of the bass and the sync between the speakers and sub?
 
Hi Nipunkx,

Sorry, was away for some time hence the delay in reply.

Yes, I tried this. My setup is as follows:

I have a wall (which is roughly 7 ft by 10ft)which is made up dedicatedly for my LG 4K TV and below the TV is a wooden unit which has all my AV components. Now this wall is right at the corner of my living room. A feet ahead of it has a 9 ft window (which is the rough viewing distance from the TV and also my AV receiver). The SW is kept right at the left side corner of this wall (just next to the 9 ft window) and which is also the farthest corner of my living room as well.

For the SW effect, yes, it has been good. I am no audio expert but I had to crank up the SW level a little over 50% to get the desired effect. The sound is boomy as I haven't got the time to do a more aggressive testing.

I also have another plan in my mind. The 9 ft window which is adjacent to the AV unit is not right till the bottom. The window just starts roughly around after 18 inches from below where I have closed cabinets. So I am also planning to keep the SW inside one of the closed cabinets (essentially hiding it from public view) and see how it works. This position is essentially parallel to my sofaPlanning to do this over the weekend.

I am attaching a crude diagram of my setup position with current SW position and proposed SW position. Do take a look and let me know any suggestions that you may have.

Thanks.

Regards,

Pushkaraj
 

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Pushkraj,
Thanks a lot for getting back in touch. Can you please post a little more clear image file of the room please?
 
I do not recommend it.
Expect a lot of coloration if you keep it in a shelf. Think of the shelf as a non-standard and mismatched horn or bass port. Keeping it on the wooden surface will further complicate the matters. Add to the equation vibrations from the cabinet too, if it is made of anything less than thick stone.
(The difference with a front firing sub, with a really heavy body, kept almost on the front of the cabinet or maybe even sticking out of it and when played at low volume, may not be obvious though.)
 
Pushkraj,
Thanks a lot for getting back in touch. Can you please post a little more clear image file of the room please?

Hi nipunkx,

Sorry was busy and away due to a tight schedule. Well, I tried posting the file again, but I am unable to go beyond what I have uploaded. Sorry for that.

As informed in my earlier post, I tried placing the sub inside a cabinet, but it sounded really bad. Firstly, the bass was vibrating the cabinet door badly. The door vibration was more than the actual bass. Moreover it was also sounding very much muffled. I also tried changing the positions inside the cabinet, but to no good.

I finally hooked it back to its original position and now it sounds good again. My only reason to change the sub position was because of space, but I guess I will have to live with the current position.

Regards,

Pushkaraj
 
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