Sub placement

[StephenR]

Am I right in thinking you can place a subwoofer more or less anywhere in the room because the sound is not directional? The only place a sub could go in my room is under the stairs behind the TV - would this be okay?

Does anyone have any experience (good or bad) with the Acoustic Energy A108 sub? My other five speakers are AE and I thought it would be better to keep to AE. If not, any other recommendations?

[ReTrO]

Subs should be able to be placed just about anywhere, make sure you can control bass boom if you stick it under the stairs though!

I have a set of AE101's and the Aegis sub, with an Ae107c to be added on Saturday. The sub suits me fine, goes very low, about 25hz it's thought. Great sub., I bought mine for £190, with a hefty discount. The RRP is £300, though you can sometimes buy them on the AE website, www.acoustic-energy.co.uk (http://www.acoustic-energy.co.uk) for £200 when they are available.
It's the best in it's price area.

Rick

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'I am just a figment of your imagination.'
MiB 1997

Work Site: The Sound Gallery (http://www.soundgallery.co.uk)
Home Site: WD A.V. (http://www.wdaudiovisual.co.uk)

PS Which AE speakers do you have?

[This message has been edited by ReTrO (edited 03-01-2001).]

[dUnKle]

In my experience subs can be placed ALMOST anywere but there set-up needs to be adjusted accordingly.

If you have more than one location that the sub can go there is a neat trick I was told and have tried. Place the sub on the floor on ( or very near to ) the location you sit. Set the subs test tone going and then move around the room yourself.

Its not 100% spot on but it saves a hell of alot of messing about

[Stuart M. Robinson]

Guys,

No, one cannot place a sub-woofer anywhere in a room (well you can, but it won't reach its full potential), this is one of the most widespread home theatre myths.

Bass reproduction is remarkably complex and bass response highly dependent on room nodes. Most of the complaints about sub-woofers being boomy, or lacking in low frequencies are down to their interaction with one's listening room, and by association, their placement within it.

I have an article on-line that deals with the basics of sub-woofer placement, integration and calibration, it's getting a little long in the tooth but the principals mentioned haven't changed. I'd also suggest you hunt around for material written by Tom Nusaine, the audio community's sub-woofer guru.
http://www.smr-home-theatre.org/Sub-woofer-Set-Up/


Stuart M. Robinson
SMR Group – http://www.smr-group.co.uk/

[HT Dude]

Agree with Stuart R, and want to add that it's generally irrelevant what speaker make you have when it comes to matching in a subwoofer.
I'm a fan of RELs and they are supposed to be suitable for pretty much any speakers. Look for a sub which go down flat to 20Hz or 25Hz if you can.

[GaryG]

I concur with Duncan, but I think he left out the punch line.

As you walk around the room the bass response will change, when you're standing in the position where it sounds best that's where you should place the sub.

Regards
Gary

[StephenR]

Thanks for those replies, most helpful. When I get time I think I'll try the AE sub - I was offered a home trial when I bought my others (109 front, 100 rear and 107 centre) but declined for various reasons. To be honest I don't really think there is a lack of bass in my system and I am concerned that adding a sub would be too much (if that's possible) but there's no harm in trying one I suppose.

[Stuart M. Robinson]

Duncan,

"Stuart im sorry if what I say will cause offence but I feel that your thing about subs not being able to be positioned anywere is wrong."

No offence taken, but if you re-read my message I said that you could put a sub anywhere in a room, but warned that it may not reach its full potential unless careful placement was considered.

"In the real world you have to make do with the situation that you have. I understand that you say the sub will not reach its full potential but people should not be made to feel like they have wasted there money when they realise there sub has to go in the corner."

Well no, adding a sub-woofer to a system is usually a good thing (although I've heard the odd system that was better without) and folks should not be discouraged if they haven't got the luxury of a dedicated listening room and infinite placement options.

The point I was making was that folks shouldn't believe that they can plonk a sub-woofer down anywhere in a room and not expect to hear the influence of positioning.

"Also the BEST palce to go for advice on subs is by using the ARTICLES button over on the left of the screen and looking for sub connection advice."

I took a quick look at the sub-woofer FAQ, and it's rather basic for my liking. But there's a good chance within that maze of frames that I missed the specific page you're referring to, so would appreciate the URL. Thanks!


Stuart M. Robinson
SMR Group – http://www.smr-group.co.uk/

[General Skanky]

Nice photo though Stuart on your site.
Very fetching. http://www.wvip.co.uk/ubb/biggrin.gif

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Douch!!......Wot's da madder, da CIA got you pushing too many penzils?

Work: www.hughes-tv.co.uk (http://www.hughes-tv.co.uk)

Good downloadable spreadsheet (http://www.guidetohometheater.com/shownews.cgi?388) from Stereophile Guide to Home Theater (http://www.guidetohometheater.com/) available re speaker positioning, with particular relevence to Low Freq's.

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Was he the tortured soul who poured out his immortal longings into dignified passages of stately music?

Or was he an old poof who wrote tunes?

[This message has been edited by PeteH (edited 05-01-2001).]

[dUnKle]

Try this

Not basic at all just straight to the point and more than enough info for the vast majority of sub owners
www.homecinemachoice.com/articles/faq/lfeconnection/submenu.shtml (http://www.homecinemachoice.com/articles/faq/lfeconnection/submenu.shtml)

followed by
http://www.homecinemachoice.com/articles/faq/lfeconnection/connecting.shtml

[This message has been edited by DuncanWardle (edited 05-01-2001).]

[dUnKle]

Stuart im sorry if what I say will cause offence but I feel that your thing about subs not being able to be positioned anywere is wrong.

In an ideal world every home cinema fan would be able to put there sub in the correct position but there are only a small percentage of people, like myself, who are able to have a dedicated media room.

In the real world you have to make do with the situation that you have. I understand that you say the sub will not reach its full potential but people should not be made to feel like they have wasted there money when they realise there sub has to go in the corner.

All that people have to do is just spen time tweaking the system and this is why I believe that a good quality sub is a must. Try and go for one of the older cheaper rel models if you are short on money.

Also the BEST palce to go for advice on subs is by using the ARTICLES button over on the left of the screen and looking for sub connection advice.

[Jeff]

Sub placement isn't the most critical thing, but placeing it behind the listening position would be a bad idea.

[Stuart M. Robinson]

Skanky,

"Nice photo though Stuart on your site."

Female Scandanavian exchange students should write to...


Stuart M. Robinson
SMR Group – http://www.smr-group.co.uk/

[Stuart M. Robinson]

Duncan,

"Not basic at all just straight to the point and more than enough info for the vast majority of sub owners..."

I didn't spot that one, and you’re right, it's not a bad article, as one would expect from Mr. Wright. Thanks for the URL. All we need now is someone to write about the problems of bass doubling brought about by some hardware when setting the front L/R channels to 'Large'.


Stuart M. Robinson
SMR Group – http://www.smr-group.co.uk/