2. home-theater
  3. 138282-116573

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
ethos123
83 posts
 
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 :). 
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

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?

auxinput
2,920 posts
 
Also, in your situation, I don't think it matters much which exact corner the sub(s) are placed.
craigert OP
147 posts
 
All great advice thanks you guys. I love that trick where you put the sub where you will be sitting and crawl around. I do have two of the same sub but that means I would have to steal it from my 2.1 system upstairs. :)

Also, Auxinput, when you say the speakers worked best in the corners did you mean your two fronts?

i spoke to Monitor Audio today and they recommended I stick with all in wall speakers since I don’t have a lot of room.

i am a bit confused the best way to arrange my surrounds in the 5.1. I have read to keep them at the sides 90 degrees ear level. I have heard to put them a foot or two above ear level.

the problem is that my couch will be against the back wall.

i have an extra pair of bookshelves I can keep on the sides on stands, or I could buy another set of in wall and put them a little above and towards the outside of the coach so they aren’t firing directly into the in wall fronts! 

Any suggestions?
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

It's actually the limitation that you have to put the viewing panel / main speakers on a long wall.  I always recommend that people use the "short wall" for placing the tv / screen / main speakers because it usually works out better acoustically in this fashion.  But this isn't always doable in certain rooms (like yours).

If you have to use the long wall for the main screen (like your room), then the subwoofer would be best in a corner for sure.  In my opinion, the main left/right speakers should be relatively close to the center channel.  I would say you could get away with putting the main speakers probably about 25% away from the corner.  The left/center/right should be close enough where they present a more "cohesive" sound.  You could always try them in the corners if you want, but you should definitely put some acoustic absorption panels within the corners to prevent standing waves in the midrange area.  In the corners of such a wide room, I would worry that you won't be able to identify direction of sound sources between the front left/right and the surround left/right, since they are so widely placed.

For surrounds, technically the left/right surrounds should be at the same height as your ears.  However, this is not always possible and can become difficult in a small room where you have one person that is closer to a surround speaker (i.e. if you're on the left, the left speaker is 2 feet away, but it's 5 feet away from the person on the right).  So you have to make some decisions and compromises on placement so that surround speakers are somewhat equalized between all audience members. 

I have a small room (at only 11 feet wide) and my surround speakers are on the side walls about 1.5 feet above listening.  It works out okay, but there is still a little imbalance even with 2 people on my loveseat. 

In your room, I would consider these positions:

1. Bookshelves mounted on stands and directed towards the listeners. (your idea).

2.  Mounted on the back ceiling about 25% into the room angled down towards the listeners.

3. Mounted on the side walls maybe about 5% into the room at listener height (as long as there are no doors blocking).  The sound would reflect off the back wall for the listeners, which is find for surrounds.

4. Mounted on the back/top of the side walls angled towards the listeners.


Options 2/3 will have the surrounds placed far away from the listeners, which should decrease the imbalance where a listener may hear the left surround more than the right surround.

I actually like your idea of putting the surrounds on stands.   This allows you to adjust the position to where you think it sounds best.

More to discover