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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
mitchagain
468 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
1,734 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.

hartf36's avatar
hartf36
214 posts
 

FWIW.....

I have my Rythmik F12G next to my left MMG in the exact spot #3. It is pretty much on the same plane as the mains, maybe a couple inches behind (sealed sub, about 8" from wall). I’ve mentioned this before but I’ll say it again because it was one of the best pieces of sound system advice I’ve ever gotten, courtesy of the A’gon member who I purchased the sub from:

If you have a speaker distance setting ability anywhere in your pre-pro stage, you should get a much more accurate presentation and much better bass integration if you add distance to the actual distance between the sub and listening spot in the speaker settings - I know I certainly did. In my case, my listening position is an actual 14’ away from my mains/sub. I have the sub set at about about 22.5’. This really, really tightens and focuses the bass integration. Call it smoother, call it seamless.....whatever. Depending on your listening configuration, your optimal setting will vary. I dial it in to 0.1 of a foot, with changes made depending on how we may have rearranged the living room, which we do with some regularity.

It may not be purist, but in a combined 2.1/HT system with a decent bass management DSP (Denon AVR-X4000) and an acceptable preamp (Parasound P5) I’ve had very good success integrating my single sub into the system. I plan on adding a smaller sub to the back of the room, behind me and to my right which will be a bit diagonal from the front mains/sub, so that should enhance things even more.

But this advice that I got was spot-on.

ryder OP
1,734 posts
 

Added some isolation to the sub. Bass now sounds tighter and more seamless. Crossover frequency is bumped up from 62 to 68Hz without any ill effect, an increase of 6 Hz. Volume on the sub is now lower to compensate for the higher crossover frequency.

In summary, it’s an improved performance with these isolation feet which is a worthwhile addition. Previously on spikes or the sub sitting directly on the floor without spikes.

 

The image below shows the previous set up where the sub was sitting on the floor without any spikes.

 

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