Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Sub placement- help please!

Hi everybody,

I've just moved to a new condo and I'm struggling to make my sub work the way it should. Below is the schema describing a very standard way of speakers placement.
I tried to setup the sub in both direct firing and various angle positions.
The problem is the same - when I have barely enough bass at my listening position, a HUGE amount of LF is directed to the left - to my neighbors. And I don't want to make them notice my move in this way. The bass just sounds MUCH louder when you are located on the same axis with the speakers. The wall on the right from the sub is made of brick, the one behind the sub is probably not (I'm not sure though). Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.

Regards,
Dmitry.

<-------- | L | - | TV | - | R | - | Sub |
too much
bass

||
|| no bass
\/

___________| listening position |_____________

Hi Dmitry, welcome.

Alan has a unique method for resolving potential room mode problems.

You basically position the subwoofer at the listening position, play some good sample material, and then crawl around on the floor until you find a place where the bass sounds good. Then, you put the subwoofer at that spot and move your furniture back.

Given your description, it sounds like a room interaction problem that might be solved in the manner above. Many people have also experienced success by moving the sub very close to the listening position.

What kind of main speakers and receiver are you using? Are there any potential issues with crossover and/or the setting for small/large?

Let us know how it goes.

One common method of seeking good sub placement, is to place the sub (properly connected, of course) where you will be sitting, play something that puts out a lot of good bass, and then crawl around the room with your ears at the approximate height of the sub, until you find the spot where you get the best bass response. That's where you should place the sub. I've not tried this method myself, as I have visions of my sub ending up right in front of the closet door . But that's what many, including some sub manufacturers recommend.

Rats! Second place again! And this time to Tacoma Tom. Oh the ignominy of it all.

Thanks a lot everyone,
I’ll follow your advice and let you know about the results!
My current setup totally stinks, but I already have an approval of the higher authority and budget from the finance department (managed by the same higher authority, guess who) on purchasing a decent set of speakers and AVR (which will probably mean either m60s or Monitor Audio S6 + HK AVR-3xx or Marantz SR-5xxx). I just wanted to explore the new room’s characteristics first and I’m glad I’ve done that. I don’t think it’s a crossover issue since my mains are set to small and the lowest frequency my old Pioneer has for crossover is 100Hz.

I’m just worried that after I buy new speakers (which I’m planning to use without a sub most of the time since my priority is music) I’ll have the same problems with the LF emitted by the speakers.

Regards,
Dmitry.

Just a note on the receivers, I think you'll find the H/K 4, 5, or 6 lines to be more comparable to the Marantz 5x00 series. You can usually get pretty good prices on refurbed H/Ks (better than the refurb Marantzs, generally).

Yeah, but HK 430 refurbished on EBay costs as new Marantz SR-5400 (at Cambridge Soundworks you can get 15% off the list price which drives the final price of a new 5400 to ~ $470, which I guess is reasonable. Plus I have a local store in a close proximity. Decisions, decisions...

Dmitry, the sub generally should be located in the tighter(farthest from large openings)corner behind the mains and crossed over at 80Hz. The level of bass in relation to the other speakers should be adjusted by the bass level controls on the sub and/or receiver, not by changing the position of the sub.

Not sure if this helps any or not, but I have mine in the corner positioned behind my couch. I find in my HT room, it works better there then up front. Just a suggestion or idea for ya.


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