Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Subwoofer ports against wall...good, bad, neither?

I have my PB12-ISD in the corner of my living room sitting next to the right main speaker and resting on a hard wood floor. I purchased it in January and kept it about 4" from both walls for around 2 months and it sounded great. Last week, I decided to play with placement a little and over the course of an hour or so ended up with the sub at 9" from the front wall and 6" from the side wall. With the new placement, the sub tightened up a little. During my experimentation, I listend to DVD's and CD's. I started out with DVD's but did not notice any difference between the different placements I tried (I was moving the sub out from the wall about an inch at a time). However, once I switched to music, I was able to hear the difference. I suspect the difference was there on DVD's also, but maybe it was easier for me to hear when listening to music.

Well, if 1-2" from the wall is her only requirement and she didn't mention anything about how much total space the sub was allowed to take up; then I have an idea.

Pick out a massive sub...something a good 6-8" or more deeper and/or wider than the PB-12 and tell her it's the sub you plan on purchasing. Then, using its measurements, take her along with you and measure the corner space the sub will take up factoring in her 1-2" wall requirement.

After that, inform her that you might be willing to compromise by purchasing a smaller sub (PB-12) that requires 4" placement from the walls, but will still occupy less floor space than the other. Maybe she will come to realize that the amount of total space the sub will take up is more of a factor than how far it is placed from the wall. It's worth a shot.

... or just put a lacey tablecloth and a bud vase on top of the sub and she will want to move it out into the room closer to the other furniture. It's a dirty, calculating move but it works real well...

So will the downward firing ports of the Outlaw allow it to be placed closer to the wall when compared to the side-ports of the SV PB12 ISD? Or is port-proximity to a flat surface a relatively minor performance issue when compared with subwoofer cabinet placement relative to the wall or corner.

While I have mentioned WAF as an important consideration, I'd be lying to say that a handsome home theater set-up isn't important to me as well.

I really do appreciate all the help and input. I'm finding that learning about the theory of acoustics (specifically room acoustics) is VERY helpful in balancing the oft-competing needs of aesthetics and acoustics in design of my home theater. Learning about this stuff is fun too.