Best place for a Sub in my mini Theater


I am finishing half of my basement into a 10’ x 20’ theater room. The viewing area is only 10’ deep. The tv and credenza will be recessed 2 feet so that they are flush with the wall. Picture them stuck in a closet.   I have in wall speakers for the fronts. Where is the best place for the sub and facing which direction? It’s front firing.

I can recess it into the wall and have it face the audience but it would be firing into a wall only 10 feet away.

I’m thinking maybe I should put it in the front left corner and have it fire towards the 20’ length but it may be blocking. A closet. 

The couch is against the back wall. What if I put it against the back left corner?

As you can see I’m a bit confused. 


craigert
The “best” place will depend on a lot of factors. The subwoofer, the rest of your equipment it’s playing with, and the rest of the room and what is in it (furniture, acoustic treatments, reflective surfaces vs absorptive ones, etc) all play a role. The good news is that there’s a pretty easy trick to find that “best” spot for you.

Put the subwoofer in the seat that you intend to be the best seat, play some bass test tracks or bass heavy material, and slowly crawl around the room (crawl because you want your ears to be near where the center of the sub driver will be) and try to decide where it sounds best to you...then place the subwoofer in that location. 
P.S. multiple subs will sound better than a single sub because it helps to lessen the effects of the room at any particular spot. If you have the option, I’d suggest having 2...or more :). 

I have worked in a very wide/short room like yours.  Having speakers on the widest front wall lacked a lot of bass/midbass.  In my specific room (which was very close to the 10' x 20' of yours), I had the best results from putting the speakers in the corners.  It also naturally boosts the bass frequencies if it's corner loaded (of course other rooms may have different responses).

Also, agree on 2 or more subs, but it's all about budget, right?