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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
ryder OP
1,689 posts
 

An update. To cut a long story short, the sub is staying. I’ll keep this short and avoid being long-winded. Most experienced folks would have known about this. After moving the sub around, I figured out that the placement of the sub is everything. The difference it makes is just massive.

As expected, the current best placement of the sub is between the speakers. It’s not at the centre but closer to the left speaker. I also found that the front of the sub needs to be on the same plane as the main speakers after moving it front and back. The sub now has about 2 feet from the rear wall (previously 5 inches).

With the new placement of the sub, the volume and crossover settings are completely changed. After trying several settings with different music, I’ve settled with these. The crossover frequency can now be turned up higher without the bass sounding forced or unnatural. Please feel free to comment if the settings need some adjustment. The volume and crossover settings are most important, phase setting is least important as I’ve always left it at 0, presuming the sub is in phase.

The volume is at 75%, rather high.

Crossover frequency is currently at 62 Hz.

Phase at 0.

 

 

ryder OP
1,689 posts
 

I’ve also replaced these lowly interconnects


with some decent ones as below. Van Damme cables.

 

I’m not sure if it has made a difference but the new one is certainly more sturdy than the thin flimsy wires I was using before this.

The Nobsound isolation feet will be the icing on the cake.

bmontani
193 posts
 

You might want to put your sub in your listening position and then move to various points of the room and listen for the best sound.  Then simply put the sub in the location where you were located.  

mitchagain
441 posts
 

Did you replace the stock power cord? If not, even a $100 after market power cord should make a difference.  Many will tell you that unlike other components, a subwoofer does not need a power cord upgrade; but, doing so ending up providing a subtle but noticeable improvement for me.

ryder OP
1,689 posts
 

It’s still a stock power cord. Will look for some better cords soon.

I’m amazed at the transformation of the system. It is quite rewarding once the integration of the sub to the speakers is close to seamless.

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