Klipsch ProMedia sub location?

[ianfan]

Hi, I just got the PM's and I still am trying to find a optimum position for the subwoofer because of the somewhat odd configuration of my room. The manual says to put the sub right infront of you, under the monitor, but my computer is down there also - is it safe to do this? The reason I am specifically worried about this is because of the side drivers, which could (can they?) interfere with the computer. Is this safe?

Thanks in advance

 

[glen]

In almost ALL cases the corner is the best.
This tends to minimize destructive interference.
Tom Nousaine proposed this to AES in 1995. All data so far seems to support his proposal.

 

[Zucchini]

Anywhere along a wall is good. just keep the area around the port clear.. around 5 inches clearance should be fine. i find it best to put it to the side of my computer desk against the wall.. with the port firing across my desk. As long as the sub is 2 feet or so from the pc it should be fine. corners are sometimes good,b ut they reinforce your sub so it may become too bassy if you don't adjust the sub.

 

[mikee]

Yes, if you put it too close to a wall you might find that a sub becomes too boomy. So you should play around with the positioning until you find one you like. But in a corner (not flush though) and somewhere along a wall should be fine. As far as putting it close to a computer, I don't think it will cause interference (vibrations though), but you probably don't want to take a chance.

 

[Zucchini]

just place it somewhere ahead of where you sit, as close to center as possible. just don't set it way off behind you or something.. being near the sats helps them mesh

 

[glen]

Ask any audio-phile and they will tell you the corner is too boomy.
Most sub makers will tell you near the listening position along the wall.

However, this has been well studied by engineers with time, money, expertise, and testing equipment.
The Audio Engineering Society has spoken:
Answer - as close as possible to the corner.
Since 1995 no one has presented any theory or evidence to the contrary to AES.

 

[glen]

To help subs integrate with your main speakers:
have a steep cross over point at 100 hz.
Don't let anything touch the sub. If you get the frequencies below 100 hz, you can't localize it. However, if something, a cord for example, is brushing against it, this will set up vibrations at frequencies you can localize...making your brain think the sub is where it is...other wise your brain localizes the sub to the mains.

 

[Fisher999]

Glen's comment about the corner being just too boomy is an excellent one. Although three room intersections (or boundaries), in this case the floor, side wall and front wall will give the best bass reinforcment it is not always the best "sounding" location for a sub. A few years ago I had the pleasure of having a long conversation with Art Dixon (has a couple of degrees in acoustical physics and is well respected in the audiophile community) who's company manufactured room acoustical treatments. He gave me a lengthy explanation for his assertion that the "best" location for a subwoofer is the floor/front wall boundaries at a distance from the side wall equal to 1/3 of the total distance of the length of the front wall. In his opinion, this location, in most acoustical environments, provides the best balance of low frequency reinforcement and "response flatness" (the opposite of that "boomy" bass sound). This is just a general statement as things like the shape of the room, the "liveness" or "deadness" of a room, the placement of furniture, the amount of windows, the strength of the walls, etc... ALL play a part in the overall "sound" of any acoustical environment.

 

[Muadib]

Placement is key with these. That's why it kills me when I see post that knock them because of them being to boomy. It's so easy to correct, but most just hook them up & call it a day.

 

[The Sauce]

Position is very important, and that's why you need to have it under your desk to rest your feet on. Not only does it keep your feet warm and give you an ottoman to rest them on, but you get a massage every time the base kicks up. Don't listen to those nerds about the corner thing, trust me. ;^)

 

[randomlinh]

hehehe... that's what i do.. but mainly cause of space constraints. In a dorm here... i'd like it off to the side more.... and it's funny, i have the promedia's, my roommate has the acs45's... and we're in the opposite corners of the room.. he gets the power of my sub, i get his.. heh.

One complain I have is the wire to connect to the sub for the promedias is too short IMO.

 

[divinemartyr]

Well so far i haven't seen a decent response to this post so I'll give you what knowledge I have regarding speaker placement.

First of all subwoofers produce frequencies below 120 hz (usually lower but in a multimedia application probably 120hz) and these frequencies are non-directional. I saw one post about a guy saying that the bass needed to 'mesh' with the highs by being close, but honestly, unless you're placing your sub more than 5-6 feet away from them, this should not be a problem. The only time this becomes a problem is when you have a sub no where near your other speakers and no where near you, the timing starts to get off and a DSP processor becomes necessary, but again, for multimedia applications this really is unnecessary.

Secondly, subwoofer placement can be basically anywhere that sounds good in your room. If you like a really LOUD BOOMY subwoofer, try to place it in a corner with about 2 inches minimum on either side. Having 2 walls for your subwoofer's frequencies to resonate off of helps to generate the most amount of bass. I personally don't like this sound, but for a system that lacks bass, this is a good way to create it.

Your other option would be to place it near one wall. Having this one wall gives your subwoofer at least something to resonate from (since you mentioned this is a side firing subwoofer this is actually almost necessary to get decent bass response) and will give you a nice tight warm sound. Don't place your sub too close to the computer, you could cause your hard drive needle to bounce, and yes this is possible for you skeptics. Give at least 2 feet of room between your sub and your computer to be safe.

The ultimate listening test would be to pick a song that you REALLY like and REALLY know well. Place the sub in a few different places, listening to the whole song in its entirety. Listen for things you normally don't hear in the song. If you notice particular nuances in the music when the sub is in a certain position, this is the place for you.

I hope this helps somewhat in positioning your subwoofer.

divinemartyr

 

[BDawg]

Dr. Poh Ser Hsu, who is very highly respected in the bass field, recommends placing the sub behind the listening position.

Supposedly, he says this location always models the best extension.

Personally, I have my home theater sub (BA VR2000) corner loaded.

I doubt putting the sub near your computer will hurt it any way. The sub's probably magnetically shielded.

 

[subhuman]

I'm really impressed by some of the advice I see here. As a musician, it is excellent to see people getting A) Good Speakers, and B) Paying attention to placement.

As far as placement goes, trust your ears. I too agree that in a corner, the bass is sometimes overpowering, boomy. The way I had mine setup before (had Klipsch floor standing system with an 8" powered sub), putting it in the sub on a wood floor was much too boomy. I ended up moving it away from the wall about 8" from both walls in the corner, and putting it on some carpet.

I also really like the sub somewhere in the middle of the 2 satellites. But, use your ears and let them guide you...

 

[Origen]

Granted I haven't tried it but I heard this good tip from someone I think on this board in another thread awhile back:

Place your sub on your computer chair, then walk around your room and find the place the sub sounds best, then put the sub where you're standing and go sit back down in your chair.

 

[Madcowz]

actually, Origen, with the test you mentioned, you will want the sub on the FLOOR where your seat normally is and not on top of the seat. This testing usually does the job but isn't terribly accurate considering you are taking away environmental variables like the walls since you have the sub around the middle of the room. My suggestion is to sit in your seat, crank up some bassy tunes and place your subwoofer somewhere along a wall or corner (2-6 inches clearance from the wall), and run back to your seat and feel it out. Do this at various spots along your walls and see which spot suits your bass needs best. Hey, it worked for me... w/ perfect placement I got my puny 23 watt dtt2500 sub pounding my insides

 

[Zucchini]

"Dr. Poh Ser Hsu"

i'm guessing that his advised is based on the assumption of a high quality sub with a low cross over point. some smaller pc subs are a tiny bit directional.

 

[Fisher999]

HSU makes some of the best subwoofers for "high end" audio/video systems and I'm glad to see Dawg (I think it was) quoting DR. HSU here.

I have ALSO heard of the "trick" of placing the sub where you will sit, walk around till you find the spot where the sub "sounds" best, then swap. I have not used that technique though.
I HAVE heard it referenced in audiophile publications.

The advice given about experimenting with placement along one wall, or the intersection of two walls (a corner) and "moving" the sub till you find the "sweet spot" from your listening position is excellent advice.

Our ears can not hear frequencies lower than.... than.... drat... it's either 80 Hz or 180 Hz.
Well, either way, the point I was going to make is that a lower crossover point between subs and sats usually provides the most satisfying experience. We can't always control this with PC speakers however :frown:

 

[NateLam]

I've tried all of the above...being in a dorm room with a tiny desk, and REALLLLLLY thin walls (=get in trouble, esp with Midiland S4 8200 sub) I've found that the best for me is righ under the desk. The desk acts both as a resonator for me sitting in the chair, and also as a damper for the outside world. I get GREAT bass response except for vibrations in my legs and such...hope it works for you...all depends on your situation...for me...in this little hell hole...its the best

 

[glen]

We can certainly hear well below 80hz. I think you were talking about directionality. We lose directional cues in the octave between 100 and 200 hz.

 

[Fisher999]

Glenn: YES, that was a "gaff" on my part. I was indeed talking about our "ears" ability to perceive the "direction" of low frequencies. I believe that it is frequencies below about 180 Hz that we cannot perceive their direction.

However, my statement about not being able to hear low frequencies has some merit. I don't have the time to do the reference work (I used to have this memorized), but there becomes a point when the frequencies propagated from subwoofer become so low that we no longer HEAR them but FEEL them. I can't remember this SPECIFIC frequency.

 

[glen]

Hearing to feeling occurs at about 5hz.

 

[subhuman]

glen, but it can occur sooner at higher volumes