What size room is correct?

[joestar777]

Hi,

My 3600 cubic foot room contains a dining area of 1800 cubic feet and a living area [my listenting area] of 1800 cubic feet. Since sound is need in only have of the area, do I need to refer to 400 sq feet or 200 sq feet as my room size when determining what size subwoofer? Please advise.

20x20 = 400 sq feet; 3600 cubic feet Total room size

20x10 = 200 sq feet; 1800 cubic feet Dining area

20x10 = 200 sq feet; 1800 cubic feet Living area [listenting area]

Thanks,

Joe

[Chris A]

If your combination dining+living room has no break in the walls, then I would tend to advise you think about a larger subwoofer than one for 200 sq ft, although maybe not for the full 400 sq ft. However, I believe you will soon wish that you had more subwoofer(s) if the two rooms are actually one room.

Another factor to think about is the amount of acoustic liveness in both rooms. At the low frequencies of a subwoofer, acoustic absorption is usually not a factor but nooks and hallways can significantly affect low frequency coverage.

Since your combined room could be roughly square (if I read your dimensions correctly), you are probably going to have issues with "room modes" or standing waves that will require that you locate your seating position away from the 1/2, 1/3, and 1/4 room dimensions (i.e., length, width, and height).

I assume that your combined room ceiling height is about 9' (versus 4.5 feet) from your description above. Higher is better, and 9 feet is actually much better than 8 feet. I recommend putting your sub(s) in a corner, not along a wall or out into the room. There are good articles on this subject. If you don't experience enough bass, I would think about moving your listening position rather than moving the subwoofer out of the corner.

Chris