Down-firing vs front-firing? Sub placement?

I think most will say that you shouldn't notice the difference between a down firing or front/side firing sub...if your sub is crossed over correctly you should not be able to even tell where the sub is at in the room.

You can place a front-firing subwoofer closer to walls with less gain on the low-end so they can help when space is a concern. A down-firing may look less like a subwoofer and more like furniture.

I don't think it makes a difference because bass waves are non-directional.

What does that statement mean: "with less gain on the low-end"??

If a front-firing sub yields "less gain on the low-end" when placed close to walls....wouldn't that be a bad thing

Actually, according to the following post Brian of Rythmik seems to think that it does make a difference:
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showt...2#post15927422
I am thinking of replacing my down-firing sub and the selection is much better if you go with a front-firing one (at least for my needs). Unfortunately the sub will be placed directly behind my listening couch and I'm concerned that a front-firing sub's location will be more discernable from there (that seems to be what Brian is saying in the above post).

Anybody have any experience with the near-field positioning of a down- vs. front-firing sub with regard to localization?

This is interesting because Rythmik's 15" Sig Edition sub is a downfiring (their most expensive product). I think if you research, you will find most will say that there is not a discernible difference between downward and front firing. Of course, location makes all the difference.

That last statement is key. My current sub's location could be discerned if placed in the corners of the room (where it maximized the 30/60Hz resonances of the room), either in a corner far away from the listening area or the one right next to our listening couch. Once we put it directly behind our couch (where it didn't excite these resonances as much) it pretty much disappeared, but it is a down-firing Velo ULD-12. So...the reason for my question is whether the disappearing act will continue if I replace the ULD with a front firing sub in the same behind-the-couch location (which then leads me back to Brian's post where he states that a front firing sub can have localization issues more so than a down-firing one). I am guessing that if a sub disappears, it will disappear regardless of its configuration (though perhaps not if it's a front-firing sub pointing right at you a few feet away, especially if it is ported...).

One huge advantage of down firing becomes quickly apparent if you have pets or small children. My dogs bump the subwoofer often when they are playing if it had been front firing the would have been damage by now.

And my wife's vacuuming technique involves a lot of aggressive jabs, but without kids/dogs I think I can take that risk....

my .2 cents...

i have owned both front and down. i find the down hits harder it seems to feel more powerful to me.

my current sub is the ed a5-350. i have tried it both ways and find the down fire position gives me more impact.

just my input. i love the way fronts look, but cant see them when watching the movie

The other advantage is that there's a bit less challenge in placing the sub since there's no grille orientation to worry about. So with these advantages it leads one to question why so few down-firing subs are available. Does it really come down to something as silly (to me) as wanting to see the speaker move during high excursion material?

What kind of floor is the down-firing sub placed on?

I am glad that a good discussion on this topic is finally being brought up. I have a front firing Velodyne and I definitely have localization issues. I bought larger front mains so they can be crossed lower thus not making the sub produce those 80-120hz frequencies...and I still have localization issues. I acutally like my front firing Velo best when it was placed in a corner where the reinforcement of certain frequencies made a 200% difference in room bass response...in a good way. I pushed it out of the corner because of a new sectional and it sounds whimpy!

My other thought is that the driver for a front firing sub (IN THEORY) should have more freedom to move air (higher spl and accuracy?) compared to a bottom firing sub because there would be less turbulence and air compression to a boundry (the floor/ground).

What down-firing sub do you own?

"Good Heavens Holmes, I think you've got it!"

Big it is (and size does count), but otherwise you got me...what is it?

ed a5-350 previous model with the 550w amp. 15" weighs just over 110lbs i think also

Hmm...was this available in a down-firing configuration or did you/they customize it (i.e., I don't see the plate amp on top where I would expect it to be for the current model)?

its an older model a5

The primary reason I got the down-firing sub was because of my kids. They spend a lot of time in the room where my sub resides and I was concerned about my reaction to them damaging a front-firing sub. I didn't read anything significant about the bass from either, so my circumstances made my decision.

I owned a down firing ported sub and it didn't compare sound quality wise with the several front firing sealed subs I've owned. Too boomy and muddled compared to my REL and Velodyne subs.

I strongly prefer downfiring subs as well. Front subs just don't seem to give me the earthquake, groundshaking effect during movies that downfiring subs do.

It has also been my impression that downfiring/frontfiring is aesthetic.

These subs we're looking at are all EQ'd flat - so what difference could front/down possibly make?

From a placement standpoint - your downfiring sub is ALWAYS a certain distance from a room boundary. A frontfiring sub - not necessarily. So it would make sense (to me at least) that a front firing sub would offer MORE flexibility w/ respect to room interactions than a downfiring sub - which is always x" from the ground...

The aesthetics and kid/pet-proofing makes the most sense to me.

FWIW, I have a front-firing sub placed at the back of the room and most people that have experienced movies at my house think it is furniture until I take off the grill. The MBM-12 I have is placed more toward the front of the room - and it's downfiring.

During placement, the same spots were good for downfiring in the room vs. frontfiring. Makes sense, since the room shape didn't change between my moving the different subs around the place...

I can say with absolute certainty (based on both theory and experimentation) that placement is going to make a massively-huge difference in performance. I don't think anyone can say with confidence that the same is true for down vs. front.

does down vs side firing make a difference if the sub has to be up against (6 inches off) the shared wall of a townhouse neighbor? I don't want to disturb.