Home Cinema - sub positioning
 

Before anybody sends me off to the avforums, I have registered there, I'm just waiting for the confirmation e-mail (still). So being the impatient sort of bod that I am and knowing we have quite a collection of audio nutters on here I thought I'd post here in the meantime.

I am looking at where to place a sub woofer for a surround sound set up. It isn't high end, £200 DVD player, £250 amp and looking at about £400 for the speaker set up (2 free standers, 2 rears, a front and a sub).

I understand you can put the sub anywhere, but I may be stretching that a bit far with my plan. We have suspended floors downstairs with about a 4 foot gap. Would I be able to mount the sub under the floor facing up or would that really knacker the sound up?

i know it says you can put a sub anywhere but that maybe pushing it a bit !! i myself think it would be a bad idea

have a read at this

cheers

sinky

How big is the room mate? you can put a suba anywhere but it depends what your after. if you want tight bass then put it next to the tv or somewhere un enclosed. if you want boomeybass then put it behind the biggest sofa you have. just experiment. Have you been into a dealer and listend to any speakers? if you have spent 450 an a dvd n amp id recomend saving a bit more for better speakers. If you have a small room i hate to say it but id recomend a bose speaker only package. their great in small rooms. kind of artificial bass sound which you either love or hate. i love it

Lol - well the misses is gonna sh*t bricks over having 6 speakers in the room, if I can hide one then it may just help :D

Besides the bass speaker is pretty large so it would be good to have it out of the way.

usually can put them anywhere but generally people put them next to the telly. I have mine next to the sofa though so its sort of behind you...

to be honest your plan seems a bit OTT for the type of kit you have. youd have to cut a hole int he floor to let the sound through... it wont be that powerful.

About 4m square

I want it unseen and not taking up any floorspace - hence the suggestion of under floor mounting!

As I say - don't really want it taking up space, no room behind or to the side of the TV, no room behind either sofa, I could put it in the fire place, but I don't think it would last too long with a coal fire going :D

Not as yet, but I have an idea what I may go for.

I had looked at the Bose package, but again with the sub.

People may say you can put a sub anywhere, but that's not strictly true.

What is true, is that the right place to put it in your particular room could be anywhere - but you'll have to experiment to find out where that is.

Even though bass is non-directional - you can't hear exactly where it's coming from - it can set up standing waves within your listening room. This is where sound bounces off solid surfaces and interferes with the original source. This interference will be constructive in some parts of the room and destructive in others, so in your listening position you could hear massively overblown bass while someone elsewhere in the room hears nothing.

You can break up these waves, giving more consistent sound level throughout the room, by rearranging solid furniture, or you can position the sub such that you get a reasonable level in and around your listening position. Where that is will depend on your room size and layout.

For what it's worth, I have my sub tucked right into the corner of the room and set 180 degrees out of phase with the main speakers. But, I have a long thin rectangular lounge/diner, and standing waves are a problem. When I want to hear the system at its best, I move.

The lounge is pretty much square, with a chimney breast sticking out of the middle third of one wall by about 18 inches.

I get the feeling it may have to go in a corner somewhere and we'll just have to suck it and see.

The sound from a sub is non-directional, it doesn't matter which way it's facing but best to have it facing as the manufacturer intended - with the unit upright as designed, but in the same room.

Behind the telly is a good spot.

Bass is non directional, try different places to see if that helps. put it closer to where you sit if you want it louder if you are at max volume on the bass

My mate has his under his settee but is a lazty bugger and never moves off of it.

Thanks for all the replies, this under the floor thing isn't in an attempt to get the "best" sound, it is to try and recover floor space in the lounge. It is looking like I may just have to accept having it in a corner or go for a sub-less Bose system.

Just to clarify - were you planning on recessing the sub into the floor, or going the whole hog and actually putting it under the floor with floor-boards etc. on top?


If it's recessed (i.e. with the outlet exposed to the room) then that may not be a bad idea. You'll need some sort of grill to stop small animals falling in, and it'll be worth sealing the join between the sub enclosure and the floor around it.

One way of finding a good position is to put the sub roughly where you sit (although not on a sofa or anything else which is soft, as it will absorb some of the energy which should be going out as sound). Then crawl around the room listening to the bass until you find somewhere that sounds like you want it. Corners etc. generally increase the bass whilst the further out in the room you go the bass gneerally lessens.

Anyway, when you're either happy or bored with crawling around, place the sub where you are. Then sit on the sofa and have a cuppa.

I hadn't planned to recess or cut a grill, just kinda mount it between the joists facing up at the floorboards (solid pine boards not chipboard). If it is hidden away in a corner, then cutting a series of holes above may be feasible, obviously less so than if it is in the middle of the floor (sanded boards, no carpet etc)

I guess the only way to know, is to give it a try once I get the speakers but before I finally finish the decorating and flooring in the lounge.

Don't do what I did and sit it right next to the tv. I spent an hour that evening wondering why all the colour was draining out of the screen. Big magnets and crt's don't mix :D

I agree with AndyC, I personally prefer it close to the TV. Is your TV against a flat wall or in a corner? if a corner, try placing the sub behind it. I found this site to have some useful info; http://www.audioholics.com/techtips/...ementguide.php

The TV will be in the middle of a wall with unit either side so no scope to put it behind or the modules won't line up properly.

I'll have a look - cheers

if you suspend the sub/ into the floor, be aware that if its bass reflex rear port, you will you turn your underfloor space into a huge boom box, the sub will either sound pannts, or you will need need sh*t loads of volume to get decent results..

i had a standard sony sub with my system ( mixn match) not the best option, but it worked.. anyway one day i came a across an old kenwood clamshell sub..

fits in the corner of the room behind a speaker and sound superb...(kenwood amp) tight bass and has a nicle lamp built in to boot


Mart