Visually discreet sub recommendation and placement...

OK, here is my setup. I have an approximately 12.5' x 17' room with tall ceilings (~10'). In the picture below, seating is in red and existing speakers are in green. My front speakers are on the floor (Monitor Audio 9i mains, 12i center) and my rear speakers (MA 3i's) are wall mounted at about 9' tall. Everything is powered by an Arcam surround receiver that excels with 2-channel audio as well (my first love). And before anyone asks... the space behind and next to "Chair 1" is already taken up by a floor lamp and a side table. I might be able to fit a small cube under the table but I can't put a cylinder back there.



First of all, I realize that none of my gear is optimally placed (fronts should be pulled out further from the wall, rears should be lowered, etc...), but this is a dual use room so compromises are required -- and I've made my peace with that. We don't have room for a dedicated theater room, so when the projector screen is up we want it to look and feel cozy for hanging out/conversation... not an arc of seats around a giant tv! So far I think we are doing quite well, but I'm hoping to add a small, musical subwoofer. As far as I understand I really only have two options:

A) Bass cube (10-13" cube or there abouts) somewhere between the mains, near the center channel.

B) Base cylinder (12"x48") behind the door in the upper right corner... basically behind "chair 2".

It is my understand that the base cylinders will produce much better/bigger bass so that is what I'm leaning towards. However, that door coming into the room stays open 99 times out of 100 (in fact it is propped open using a magnetic door stop). So if placed there, it would basically live permanently behind the open door. I know you aren't supposed to be able to tell where the bass is coming from anyway, but I didn't know if placing it behind the door would badly hurt the acoustics (keeping in mind my already compromised setup).

Please also keep in mind that I live in a 1912 house and everything creaks and rattles (floors, doors, window panes, etc...). I don't need or want boomy base as I'd worry about my house falling down (or at least sounding like it was going to)! I prefer subtle, tight, musical bass. While I cherish the opportunities that I get to do some 2-channel music listening, I do end up watching movies more often. I'd like something that works well with both, but on the scale of things, I would prefer great-music/good-movies over great-movies/good-music -- if that makes any sense.

Finally, I'm a firm believer in the value of 2nd hand hi-fi. My budget is about $500 but I'm hoping I can find something that MSRP'd for more originally.

Any ideas?

Maybe a SVS or HSU cylinder? If so what models do you think would fit my room and wouldn't be compromised by the door?

Or maybe a bass cube is my only option -- Sunfire, DA supercube, Velodyne MiniVee (8" too smal?)? Any recommendations on placement... between mains? Between "chair 1" and "couch"?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!

Thanks for the idea! However, I'm not sure it would fit as I don't have my whole layout in the mock-up. Chair 1 and the couch share a huge ottoman/coffee table and each of the chairs between the mains also have ottomans. Unfortunately, I don't think I can push the two sides of the room any closer together...

I'll have to see how big of a cube I can fit between the mains. It is pretty tight in there with the chairs and all. Thanks for the short list... that gives me a few more to check on as well.

Anyone know about sound quality issues with mounting a cylinder behind the door? Should I rule that out entirely and focus on a bass cube? Thanks again!

Actually, there is yet another small chair sitting kind of in front of the equipment closet that is not pictured either. We have 5 chairs and a couch in that room... I will say it is a blast with guests as I'm a huge fan of entertaining!

Now that is a damn interesting idea... I hadn't thought of that. It would be nice to be able to close the door between our theater and the rest of the house though...


I'm not sure I follow you... are you suggesting to seal the doorway? If so that is unfortunately not possible as that is the only connection with the rest of the house. The 5 foot double door on the left side of the mock-up goes outside.

A sidetable/sub combo may work. Anything particular subs might suggest in that size (tall, rectangular-ish I would guess)?

As for moving the floor lamp... that isn't as easy as it sounds! Sorry, I don't mean to shoot down everyone's ideas but there are so many things going on that aren't pictured for you all. The floor lamp is in the corner as it doesn't block any of the walls there... which are filled full of vintage movie posters. They were painstakingly placed over a period of months so it would be a big deal to all of a sudden put something tall in front of them.

I know this is a pain to think about... which is why I've been putting it off so long! The bass from my 9i's is not too bad after loading the bottom chambers with lead shot.

I got you now. Thanks for the clarification.

I just thought of one other issue with removing the door... I have a front projection setup. It has already been a pain in the butt "light-proofing" my theater room. Now I would basically have to do the same thing with my entry-way/open stairwell which is what is on the other side of the door.

The door does stay open way, WAY more often than not. However, it is nice to have the option to close it. I rarely have light problems at night, but on the rare chance I get to watch some weekend basketball or an afternoon movie the door has to be shut otherwise the picture is washed out.

I know... there are complications abound with my setup!

P.S. I can tell you right now that a curtain instead of a door would not fly with my wife!

That would raise the center channel too high causing the screen to block it.


Nope, our ottoman/coffee table is matched with Chair 1 and the couch.

Are there any cylinders that are known for being particularly musical? I know subtlety is not usually their strong point!

Enough is enough... there will be no more remodeling of my house!

Anyway, it looks like cylinder sub is out anyway. I just got home and measured and I can only fit about a 12-13" diameter tube in the corner and still open the door. The smallest SVS is 16".

The good news is that if I remove the end table, I can fit a small sub about 15" wide x16" deep x ??? tall sub in the space between the chair and the couch. That means an SVS SB12-Plus will fit and the Rythmik F12 might also just slip into that space. If those will fit, should I even bother looking at anything smaller (DA supercube, Velo MiniVee, a used Sunfire, etc...)? Anything else you would add to that short list? Thanks again!

Couple follow-up questions:

1) Who is Brian? I assume someone who works at Rythmik?

2) To fit the Rythmik F12 in that space (or any sub that size), it would need to be pushed up against the corner round molding on the wall. That would put the cabinet about 1-1.5" from the wall with the two opposite corners more or less touching the couch and chair. How badly will that hurt the sound? Also, what kind of impact will it be? I can handle impacts to volume and maybe even some minor loss of fidelity, but if that will make it boomy or bloated it probably won't work for me.

3) Any recommendations (or links discussing the pros/cons) as to how I should hook this up to work with both music and movies? My AVR has an LFE output, but I can also access wiring through the floor to put this in line with my mains if that is the preferred method.

Thanks again for all the help!