Klipsch 12" KSW shakes floor

[kaotik78]

Morning all,

Finally, the mrs and I are in our new home and can finally LISTEN to our home theater. Putting on the transformers yesterday yielded our couch and us vibrating across the floor. My wife looked at me and said whoah, we better turn that down I don't like that.

I loved it, however the bass did seem to be overpowering EVERYTHING and then managed to show us what buzzes, vibrates, moves etc in the room. We have the sub turned down to zero and went up 8 clicks, that's all the gain we've given it. We have hardwood floors as well, I'm wondering if the bottom firing nature of the sub and being in the corner is yielding this forcefull and boomy sound? Is there anything like isolation feet to eliminate the excessive floor shaking or should we just build a dedicated theater in the basement on the concrete, j/k.

Thanks for the advice.

[oldbuckster]

First try getting it out of the corner ..... then maybe a throwing rug under the sub might help ... or check your settings on your receiver, if in fact that's what your using ....... I don't like the sound of my sub in a corner, in my room the mid bass becomes too boomy, not the sound I like ..... I am on a cement floor ...

[Guest srobak]

Pull it away from the corner a bit and also make sure it isn't crossed higher than 80Hz. Consider some other forms of sound deadening - carpet, throw rugs, decorative absorbing panels... felt pads are good for buzzing pictures against the wall, or ornaments/knick-knacks

[mas]

A bit of clarification of the problem would help here...

One, if the problem is with how loud the bass is, the volume knob is the answer, not absorption.

If the problem is "boominess", it sounds like room modes. Begin with corner traps and then measurements and identification of room modes and nodal location for surgical application of traps - coupled (to a small degree) with the sub's location relative to the listening position - but be aware that the room modes are determined by the room geometry MUCH more so than by the sub's location. All you do by moving the sub is to change the proportion of the standing wave to direct radiative energy levels. And it doesn't sound like your problem is the seating location being located in a null!

But, from the description, the problem sounds more like floor vibration, and if this is indeed the problem, none of the above (short of volume control that will minimize, but not eliminate this) will fix this. This is a function of the mechanical coupling of the sub with the floor and the compliancy of the floor. If this is the case, you need to mechanically decouple the sub from the floor. And with the amount of energy you are dealing with, this is not a trivial issue.

If this is indeed the problem, relocating to the basement, if you want the high SPL playback levels, may be a choice worth seriously considering, as I doubt you want to ceiling mount the sub or re-engineer the floor! []

[TheEAR]

The KSW12 shakes...the floor !!! [:|] WOW

You must have the sub in or near a corner and you sit close to the rear wall (or floor made out of 2x4's ). ...[]

Yes room modes,those modes a la mode. Make sure levels are matched,work with placement across the front of the room(if you can),you will be quickly back on track.

Optimal sitting is 3/4 in the room,not against a wall as it will ALWAYS reduce sound quality and add negative effects(over boosted bass,reflective surcface too close to sitting poition).

[CECAA850]

Try a subdude.

http://www.auralexelite.com/products/product1.asp?id=26&bundle

[Guest srobak]

One, if the problem is with how loud the bass is, the volume knob is the answer, not absorption.

We have the sub turned down to zero and went up 8 clicks, that's all the gain we've given it.

[kaotik78]

Ok, I'm using a yamaha receiver, the sub is in the corner on the back wall adjacent to where we sit. The floor is real solid oak (not pergo or any other floating floor)

I wish I could tell you the volume by the knob but the new receivers have no knobs so it's around -19 to -15 on volume. The sub gain is set to 8 "clicks" or dashes from 0 on the back. Crossover is set to 60hz.

So what I'm gettin here is to just turn the damn thing down even more, and get it away from the corner? Guess there isn't a need to get somethin smaller then?

[wizop]

can you adjust the sub volume at the receiver?

[CAS]

At first I wasn't sure what you were talking about as the KSW-12 isn't much of a floor shaker, but what I think you may be talking about is the "boomy" factor. That model is a notoriously mid-bass boomy sub with very little linearity. Getting it out of the corner and isolating it will improve your response however "mid-boom" is what this model tends to produce regardless of location. The solution, then, may be to get a more linear sub.

I have solid oak flooring as well and a much more substantial sub however vibration is kept to a minimum. I can't recommend much else than what's already been stated except I wouldn't recommend simply turning it down. If you want less mid-boom and more integration with your system you may want to research other options to drive your low frequencies.

[TheEAR]

Best cure for BOOMY subs.

TAKE OUT OF CORNERS,alongside the front wall. Still good room gain and boom is rediced.

Cut the sub as low as you can 60Hz is better than the high 80Hz...as the sub reproduces freq.abobe 80Hz (crossover slope) and this equals added BOOM.

Never sit against a wall or too close to a back wall.3/4 in the room.

[kaotik78]

EDIT TO THE POST MODEL NUMBER

It's easy for model's to get confused when the vendor doesn't tell you up front what your really buying. I have a Klipsch SUB-12, not a KSW-12. I appologize for the confusion, doubtfull I'll get a appology from the vendor who sold it to me.

So far the suggestions above have helped us with our dilema. We've moved the couch a lil bit further from the wall and placed the subwoofer in the middle of the wall to our right behind a recliner. This has helped eliminiate the overpowering and boomy sound.

[wizop]

actually then, you have the current model. it's the ksw-12 that is the older one. I know. I have one in a box that I ordered thinking I was getting the sub012 that yoiu have. today is decision day whether to open it and give it a try or send it back unopened.

my room design almost forces a corner placement. all the equipment is in a shallow alcove at the end of the room that must have been a wide shallow closet when the house was originally built. two cabinets full of cd's and dvd's flank a tv stand across the front of the alcove. my s-2 fronts are hung from the wall. my c-2 center is on top of the tv. my sub is on the floor in the corner of the alcove behind the left side cabinet. the placement has worked well with my current jbl-10 but you make me worry that it'll over-amplify a 12.

there is no easy way to get wires to a speaker placement outside of the alcove. if you are wondering how I got wire to the the surround speakers, they are all in the ceiling. I was able to wire up from the alcove into the unfinished attic to run wire to ceiling speakers. it would be much harder to wire under the floor plus my wife would scream about the aesthics of a sub which was no longer nicely hidden from view behind the cd cabinet.

if I am forced to put the ksw-12 in the corner of the alcove, how should I orient it? which side should point toward the corner and which side should face across the alcove?

I have a little bit of extra rubber flooring left over from creating an exercise area in the basement. should I plan on putting a piece under the sub?

[TheEAR]

I was suspicious about a KSW12 shaking the floor ! [*-)]

Sub12...yeah flat to 10Hz yeah yeah...err not but a good deal more capable than the KSW12.

[Guest srobak]

actually then, you have the current model. it's the ksw-12 that is the older one. I know. I have one in a box that I ordered thinking I was getting the sub012 that yoiu have. today is decision day whether to open it and give it a try or send it back unopened.

Maybe you guys ended up with each others subs hehe

[dtel]

TheEAR, I was proud of you for not jumping on it with both feet. i know how you really feel about the ksw. For a second, when I seen your name on the next post and it was about a ksw, I thought oh oh he's going to crush him for claims like that !

A kinder and gentler EAR ? [bs].... Nice restraint though ! []

[jdeanmc]

Can i ask a question from someone elses thread???

I too have a ksw-12.ive got twos sub outputs from a sony str-de925 rec.with only one going to the l/lfe input to the sub is this correct,also have the sub x-over turned all the way clockwise(allowing the rec.to send signal to sub??? do i not need another cable goig to the ®input on sub?if so do i just run this from the remaining sub output of the receiver??

Help