Sub Woofer placement

[Macman]

What is the best position to place the sub?

I have had to place mine behind the TV cabinet (wife said it looks messy) is this going to cause any major problems.

Thanks guys

[gram99]

AFAIK the best place for a sub is in the corner of a room as this gives the maximum effect. I think! If not I'll get me bodywarmer!

[Neon]

The correct answer (although it sounds as if your other half may not agree) is that you should put it where it sounds best. This may be behind the TV - in which case you'll be OK.

I'm currently in negotations myself, so I know what you're going through.

[threadkiller]

because bass is non-directional, it shouldn't matter at all where you put it. Mines behind the sofa

[john316]

Originally posted by threadkiller
because bass is non-directional, it shouldn't matter at all where you put it. Mines behind the sofa

Apparently this is the one place you shouldn't place it - but then again, no-one can agree 100% on speaker placements

[MikeK]

Originally posted by threadkiller
because bass is non-directional, it shouldn't matter at all where you put it. Mines behind the sofa


Not strictly true, as bass does have some directionality, and it increases with frequency, but at the low end (40Hz and below), few people can detect this.

If your room had no walls and no ceiling, and the sub was only reproducing 40Hz and below I would agree that you could probably place the sub anywhere and it would sound the same.
But rooms do have walls (these cause standing waves and reflections which cause summing effects - ie say 50 Hz is boosted, whereas 30Hz is attenuated) and many subs are outputting up to 120Hz (fairly directional and easily locatable for most people). The placement can affect the standing waves and summing effects, and obviously becomes more important with the higher frequencies.
So, I'd have to say that sub-placement can be important.
This doesn't really help if it sounds best on it's side in the middle of the room though - many people can only put it where it will fit/where the boss says, so it's all a bit of a compromise anyway.

If it sounds OK behind the TV, and doesn't seem to be shaking your TV to bits, then you should be fine. No idea whether a TV will be affected by long term exposure to high levels of vibration though. (although it may well be totally unaffected - I just don't know).

Also, make sure it's far enough away from the TV.
Many sub's driver units aren't shielded and have massive motor systems with very powerful magnets.

[jnms]

:eek: I have my sub literally right next to the TV!! Looks like I will need to get it moved. From reading the above I can see that sub placement is quite subjective. However I don't have a lot of places to put it...

Could someone please give me some ideas of where to try placing it from the following?


http://members.lycos.co.uk/heirof/room.gif


:D Cheers...

[Symo]

Blimey jmns, your missus is a babe!

Symo

[TomBarker]

I find the best thing to do is to put the sub where you sit and then walk around the room until you find the place that the sound is best and then put the sub there.

People often ask why on earth my sub is smack bang in the way, but my GF has told me "our next house must have a separate home cinema room, I don't want a living room full of equipment any more" so I intend to carry on with my 'eccentricities'.

[Just]

One side of the left side armchair could work? Though your cable route could be interesting. Or the far right, not in the corner though.

I have mine at one end of the sofa, due to the fact that it is too big to go anywhere else and as sub output is only semi-directional you can get away with a lot you can't with normal speaker placement. As ours is at the end of the sofa, the bass is a little one sided, but the suspended floor means it travels nicely to balance it, plus we can use it as a small table.

[jnms]

Okay, thanks. So maybe between the armchair and the stairs. Do we lose anything sound wise for putting it behind an armchair? Of would it perhaps be better so it is still viewable from sitting position.. i.e. not blocked off?

Oh, and Symo, Mrs jnms = :norty: :D But I can see you could tell that from my little pic...

[Just]

Try and block it as least as possible, but at one of the armchair should work ok.

[jnms]

Thanks then. I will get it moved tonight or tomorrow...

[jdmistry]

I bought a 'futon stool' from ikea for about 16 quid and have placed it over the sub, it just about fits. Now you can't easily tell where the sub is as it looks like part of the furniture! It also gives anyone a fright if they sit on the stool and it turned on!

[Jimmyboy]

Hmmm, I have my sub placed pretty much directly underneath my TV set and I've never really thought it would cause a problem.
Im also thinking of moving my dvd player directly to the right of the sub.
The sub is just spreading some bass round the room and is fully shielded, can it really do hardware damage to other equipment just by being used ?.
Its not something I've given a lot of thought to before.

[Bapapapa]

The sub is just spreading some bass round the room and is fully shielded, can it really do hardware damage to other equipment just by being used ?.

Get a big enough sub and it can do structural damage to your home...

:shocker:

:thumbs:

[d.boyd1uk]

make sure the sub is angled so sound can be reflected

[jnms]

Originally posted by d.boyd1uk
make sure the sub is angled so sound can be reflected

This this would be better than what I have at the mo'? Currently the sub is aimed directly toward the listening position...

[AndyH]

Our room isn't a million miles away from your picture, and 'negotiations' forced the sub to be wedged in the gap between settee and chair (to the right of your mrs).

Biggest problem I found was getting the crossover just right to avoid peaks and troughs being caused by sub firing directly towards the fronts.

Is nicely invisible though, and is a good place for magazines and a vase.

Cheers,
Andy