Speakers on top of subwoofer


Is mounting a speaker on top of a sub a bad idea?  Specifically, a Harbeth 40.x mounted with isolators on each corner so the cabinet can flex/breath on top of a Rythmyk E15  I have a limited amount of floor space and the Rythmyk is a little taller than a Tonteger which is a good thing since the Tons are a little short to place the tweeter around my ear height.  

lewl28

@gdaddy1 Yes, and it applied to items like automobiles. The job of loudspeakers is to create vibration. If the speaker enclosure is designed correctly it should not vibrate. Any vibration of an enclosure is audible and called distortion. Those feet are usually a hoax although there are some that actually work. When you change the height of a loudspeaker you change its relationship to the room and even a few inches can change the sound for better or worse. Only mechanical items like turntables and transports might be adversely affected by vibration. The best turntables have an isolating suspension.

@ditusa That is BS of the highest order. Subwoofers are up to 9 dB more efficient when placed in corners. The cone does not have to travel as far to create a given sound pressure level and that lowers distortion and conserves power. One subwoofer only in any location is a nightmare. The minimum is two. I place 4 subwoofers with a total of 8 drivers along the front wall ending in the corners creating a subwoofer line source. There are no room modes at all. Bass is even throughout the room except for a 2-3 dB increase a the boundaries. 

I side with @soix on this. A speaker balanced on top of a sub is going to move. It may even fall off. This is avoided in 3-way systems by bolting, gluing, or otherwise fastening the sections together in the optimal configuration, which of course depends on the crossover. Which of these attachment methods should be used with an expensive speaker? I say, "None."

Then there’s the problem of stabilizing the sub on the floor, with an added weight on the top, raising the centre of gravity - it goes on. I wouldn’t touch it. YMMV.

not ideal and looks like a kludge but if you really enjoy the sound....

just make sure you have good iso dots under the speakers. 

Definitive pioneered combining loudspeakers and subs in the same cabinet for decades and Golden Ear is doing this as well. I haven't seen any complaints about them.