Subwoofer Placement

[Peter P.]

I've got a kg sw subwoofer. Being a bandpass box, it only has output ports, no visible drivers. And without a manual to make suggestions, I get to experiment with subwoofer placement.

 

So let's assume the ports are the equivalent of a typical sub's driver, and if our hypothetical sub has itself a port, we'll assume it's on the same face as the driver.

 

1. You can point the driver in the same direction as your speakers. Similar to the kg series passive radiators.

 

2. You can point the driver in the opposite direction, toward the front wall, much like a Forte passive radiator.

 

3. You can point the driver at a right angle to your main speakers. In the manual for SVS subwoofers, it mentions placing a subwoofer somewhere along an adjacent wall, but from their diagram it isn't clear whether it is pointed in  the same direction as the main speakers, or at 90 degrees to the wall the subwoofer is placed against. SVS says this produces accurate response, at a reduced level.

 

4. You can point the driver toward the ceiling. Never seen this done before.

 

5. I suppose you could point the driver at the floor and some subs are designed this way. I don't have this option with my subwoofer so I couldn't try it. Anybody using a subwoofer designed like this?

 

So it seems there's really no hard fast rule to subwoofer placement and the owner is free to experiment.

 

I bring this up because with the nature of my room and my setup, I have too many wires running to the sub, then back across the room to the speakers. If I move the sub to unclutter the wiring, I have to make changes in its orientation.

 

For kicks I tried placing it with the ports facing the ceiling. It definitely reduced output but maybe it sounded a bit more refined.

 

Pointing the ports at a right angle to the main speakers i.e., along an adjacent wall (#3) I understand I wouldn't get corner reinforcement. I'd be curious if anyone here is running their sub at a right angle to their main speakers and why.

 

And of course, all comments and opinions are welcome!

 

 

[Paducah Home Theater]

3 hours ago, Peter P. said:

 

it seems there's really no hard fast rule to subwoofer placement and the owner is free to experiment.

 

 

well.....

 

With pointing up or down you potentially have issues with sagging.  

 

With pointing ports at your face you potentially have issues with noise in the form of distortion artifacts or chuffing.  

 

There's also issues like cancellation from SBIR issues when you bring a sub out into the room too far.  

 

When placing a single subwoofer up front and off to the side or one behind you, if you have too much midrange / midbass, it can be localizable and make the room seem like it's out of whack.  

 

I wouldn't go so far as to say there's literally no known rules in terms of subwoofer placement or orientation.  There's plenty.