Dual Klipsch RW-12D Placement Questions

[cessna1466u]

Hello all, to be honest till today I didn't even know these forums excisted. I have been posting over at the AVS forums looking for answers to this problem and eventhough there are some great folks over there with a ton of knowledge no one has really been able to help me so I thought I would come here. What better place to ask a Klipsch question than a Klipsch forum. So here it goes with pics and all.

I had 1 RW-12D placed on the left side of the listening position. Got 1 more and looked around did some research and sub crawling and found that the single one sounded best when it was right in front of me about 8-9 feet away. So I figured 2 of them right in front about 8-9 feet would be insane, in a good way. Built my tv cabinet/base around the subs. It looks really nice, but it doesn't sound as good as I thought it would, or does it and my amateur ears are just not hearing it correctly? I was hoping for chest pounding sound, and although it does sound really clean and there is no rattles, it just doesn't sound as good as I thought.

I looked at some pics and read a few items where it showed the subs right in front of the listening position, kind of like at the movie theaters. I am a complete amateur at this and went with what I read and saw pics of. I received a couple of comments from someone I regard as knowledge in this field, on these forums and his opinion is that my problem is that the subs are enclosed on 3 sides. I am not questioning him but I just don't understand it since these are front firing and the port is in the front. Is is a resonance problem? I know subs are not necessarily directional but when I crawled on the sides of these subs when they were a the other position I didn't really hear much from the sides. I can rebuild the cabinet, its not that hard just need some opinions. Could it be my settings on the receiver or Sub. Here are the settings. Sub volume is -10, Set to Punch, Crossover is off on the sub and set to 80hz on the receiver. The receiver was tuned using YPAO and front speakers are set to small. Picture is of the level settings for the sub and speakers. As you can see from one of the pictures I really dont have any room to place the subs on the sides of the entertainment center. I can place them at the sides of the room and did that yesterday but to be honest I didn't hear much of a difference.

[TasDom]

Welcome to the forum!

Is it more noticeable on one than the other? Could be a cancellation issue. Is the phase on both at 0 ? Try setting one to 0 and the other to 180

Is the low pass all the way up to off?

I use the Flat setting on the EQ mode and both set to phase 0 I also found that using a Y splitter into both the left and right inputs added a couple of db's and cured the auto on function that was a problem with mine.

[cessna1466u]

Thanks Tasdom, It seems to be noticeable on both. I am saying its noticeable but it could be that this is all these subs have to offer. Maybe I am hoping for more than these can put out. I mean don't get me wrong, they sound AMAZING. Walls shake, picture frames move and the kids wont turn the receiver off even for video games. I do have the phase set to 0 and the crossover off. The receiver is setting the crossover for the sub at 80. I do have y splitters as well. My receiver has dual sub outputs so I ran 15ft sub cables from the receiver to the subs then a splitter into the low level inputs. I will try switching the phase tomorrow and setting it to flat. I had it on depth but the port noise was too much and someone suggested punch to help and it did.

You know the only think that changed from one location to the other was the cabling. I had monster cable subwoofer cable when the sub on the side and switched over to monoprice subwoofer cables when I went to the dual subs. Just because the monster cables where older. Could that be my culprit, could a cable be deminishing the sound?

[mustang guy]

Sub bass is omnidirectional. Boxing in the sides does have some impact, but I doubt that is the problem. Adding a second sub should give you a +6db gain. Since you are using calibration, the gain from the AVR will simply be adjusted down by 6db to match the rest of the speakers. The reason for adding subs is to flatten response and to eliminate room modes. In your case, the best you can hope for is flattening the response, since the subs are together.

Adding a sub does give the subs better potential output by 6db as well. many folks like music loud, and have very capable main speakers but comparably inept subs. When they turn up the volume, the mains start to pull away from the subs. By adding a more subs, that gap is closed. Now the loud music sounds the same as when it isn't loud. Keep in mind, that the louder the music, the more obvious the standing waves are.

[McMiRA]

I have my (4) rw12ds stacked 2 and 2 on either side of my center channel without any issues. Running all volumes at 0(reference) crossovers at lfe on 2 and 120 on second pair and all are phased at 0. My avr has 2 sub outs ( internally split) and the second pair are run off front LR. By any chance are the subs moving? If you bought them new did you out the rubber pads on the feet that they come with? If not they might be sliding on the entertainment center if they are on wood.

[letsgowithbob]

Just a thought, when I got my rw12d from Newegg, I was pretty disappointed by the port noise as well. I did some searching on the forums, and found that a common problem with these subs is that the ports become loose inside. If you take your hand, and stick it in the port, you can feel the port wiggling around. I took my port and pushed it back in until it seated, and the output was waaaay different. The port noise all but went away, and the sub sounded ten times better. I don't know if your subs have this problem or not, but the only time I heard port noise with this sub was when the port was not in the right place. They are not comparable to the higher end subs, but mine does the job for me for now.

[cessna1466u]

Thank you all for the replys. I think after doing some more research that my problem is placement. There is no port noise anymore, the port was loose at first from Newegg but when I received the subs I opened them up, glued the ports, braced the inside and filled with about 1lb of polyfiber. When I stand in front of the sub it its hard. Its solid and there is no noises. As soon as I step away a few feet I can't feel the bass anymore but I know its there becasue the picture frames are rattling and the wife complains: I also tried to pull the subs out of their location a few feet and it definitely makes a difference. Not night and day difference but definitely a difference. I think I will need to figure out a location other than under the tv and away from being blocked by 3 sides.

[derrickdj1]

Placement is the key. Are the subs boomy? In their symetirical location, they will both excite the same peaks and reinforce the same nulls. If you have a spl meter add the first sub to the system and check the spl. Next, add the second sub and the spl should go up as others stated. If is does not change the phase and check to see which phase setting gives the high spl. By shifting the phas in one sub 180 degrees I loose around 6 db.