How do I setup this subwoofer?

[imported_Neeraj]

My subwoofer has a small hole at the front, and the big hole covered in this felt-like material on the side. Where in the room should it be positioned?

This is the subwoofer.

I'm guessing it should be in front of me, in the left corner of the room?

 

[boshuter]

In theory it shouldn't matter, sub frequencys are omnidirectional......... in practice you just need to move it around until it sounds the best to you.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

The corner is usually the best place to put a sub. If you can put it in the front right or front left corner from your position, that's a good bet.

Moving your sub inches can make a big difference in what your sub sounds like.

A cheap trick to get a good place is to put the sub in the spot you will be listening to it (like on your chair) and then play some music and crawl around to various places until you find somewhere that the bass sounds good to you.

If the trick worked, you can put the sub at that spot where it sounded good and it will sound good back at your listening position.

Did that make any sense?

 

[imported_Neeraj]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello
The corner is usually the best place to put a sub. If you can put it in the front right or front left corner from your position, that's a good bet.

Moving your sub inches can make a big difference in what your sub sounds like.

A cheap trick to get a good place is to put the sub in the spot you will be listening to it (like on your chair) and then play some music and crawl around to various places until you find somewhere that the bass sounds good to you.

If the trick worked, you can put the sub at that spot where it sounded good and it will sound good back at your listening position.

Did that make any sense?

That sounds like a very good idea. Hopefully it will produce the same result when I put it in the new position and go back to my seat. I'll try that. Thanks.

 

[d2arcturus]

I've got the same sub on the T2900 2.1 set, and it sounds real good right at my feet, under the desk.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Oh, and make sure you keep that smaller hole at least a few inches away from any obstructions, that's the port for allowing air to move in and out of the sub.

 

[furballi]

A corner placement will re-inforce the low freq. It's best to keep the crossover frequency at or below 80Hz so that you cannot locate the sub just by hearing. Sound is directional above 100Hz.

Course if you have small satellite speakers, then the frequency will begin to roll-off around 150 to 200Hz, resulting in a dip between 80 and 150Hz.

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: furballi
A corner placement will re-inforce the low freq. It's best to keep the crossover frequency at or below 80Hz so that you cannot locate the sub just by hearing. Sound is directional above 100Hz.

Course if you have small satellite speakers, then the frequency will begin to roll-off around 150 to 200Hz, resulting in a dip between 80 and 150Hz.

I don't think he has any choice at all about the crossover frequency.

But you're right about the higher frequency stuff being more directional.

Neeraj, if you can hear a lot of sound coming from exactly where the sub is, then it probably would be a good idea to keep it more centered.
The "trick" I mentioned is a good one for Hometheater stuff, but it might not be such a good idea for all computer speaker sets.

Try some different positions and see what you like best.

 

[imported_Neeraj]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: furballi
A corner placement will re-inforce the low freq. It's best to keep the crossover frequency at or below 80Hz so that you cannot locate the sub just by hearing. Sound is directional above 100Hz.

Course if you have small satellite speakers, then the frequency will begin to roll-off around 150 to 200Hz, resulting in a dip between 80 and 150Hz.

I don't think he has any choice at all about the crossover frequency.

But you're right about the higher frequency stuff being more directional.

Neeraj, if you can hear a lot of sound coming from exactly where the sub is, then it probably would be a good idea to keep it more centered.
The "trick" I mentioned is a good one for Hometheater stuff, but it might not be such a good idea for all computer speaker sets.

Try some different positions and see what you like best.

The position that it's in now is in front of me, but on the floor, in the left corner of the room. The side hole is about 2 inches from the wall, and the front hole is not obstructed. When playing anything, if I put the bass about medium-level, you can sometimes tell where the sound is coming from. I find that annoying, because as you said, it should not be easy to locate. I've only put it in that corner because it said in a speaker manual for some similar speakers, to have it in the left corner, and the hole 2 inches away from the wall.

That seems like a general guideline though.

First I'll try that "trick" method, and if its still locatable, I'll experiment.

Thanks for the replies.

BTW, what are those holes called? Long-throw drivers? Or what are long-throw drivers anyway?

 

[PurdueRy]

The holes are ports. Long throw has to do with the XMAX distance of the driver or how far the driver can move before it would start destroying itself.

Ideally the rule is that a port should be a minimum of three inches from any wall or obstruction.

 

[furballi]

The crossover frequency is above 80Hz, so you will ALWAYS be able to locate the sub unless it is positioned in the MIDDLE of the room right beneath the monitor. Another strategy is to use dual sub and place them to the right and left front corners of the room.

A more sophisticated system will have adjustable crossover points, and larger satellites that can go down to about 80Hz. A smaller satellite CANNOT handle the low frequency down to 80Hz due to the size of the driver.

You should position the sub so that the ports are not facing a wall. A ported design increases the efficiency of the sub, allowing it to be smaller in size and interface with a small amp. An accurate/high quality sub may use an acoustic suspension with no port. Acoustic suspension subs have lower efficiency. Therefore, they are often mated with very powerful amp (500w to 1000w).