[49Merc]

I would like to now the pluses and minuses of placing a subwoofer on a cabinet shelf directly below a robust center channel.

Btw, the tower fronts will be placed about four feet to the right & left of the cabinets center point. The HDTV is to sit directly above the center channel on top of the cabinet.

 

[eljaycanuck]

That placement is like any other placement: If it provides the best overall output and FR at the main listening position, it's fine; otherwise, it's not.

 

[basshead81]

Exactly! Never assume X placement option will be good or bad....Either do the sub crawl method or download REW and purchase a measuring mic...then start measuring the room response to find the best placement for the sub.

 

[49Merc]

I do have a Denon mic for Audyessy which of course will be run. The sub and center would be at the exact center point of the wall and inbetween the two primary listening positions.

 

[Alan P]

^^^^

Ahhh, symmetry...kryptonite to the "good bass" gods.

 

[49Merc]

^^^^

Ahhh, symmetry...kryptonite to the "good bass" gods.

Please explain.

 

[Alan P]

Your subwoofer has a sweet spot in your room that it wants to live in, the only way to find that spot is via a sub crawl or by measuring your response. Said location is usually not the most aesthetically pleasing nor the most symmetrical. Although, sometimes you get lucky.

 

[Greenwood Ave]

The first thing that might be helpful to understand is that lower bass frequencies are omni-directional and don't function at all like higher frequencies. Here is a succinct article that may be helpful there:

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/schroeder-frequency-show-and-tell-part-1

What others are getting at is that there's no way to know what the best placement for a sub is in a given room. Even if they had all your room dimensions they could only make an educated guess since there are so many variable. I've heard other members mention the "Murphy's law of subwoofer placement," the idea being that where a sub looks best is rarely where it sounds best. So you could do the subwoofer crawl (Google it) or simply move the sub around to different places till you find what sounds best to you. (Be sure to rerun Audyssey after each change.) If you really get into it you could download Room EQ Wizard (a free program) and a buy a USB calibration mic (< $100). This would allow you to measure the frequency response at your main listening position with the sub in each location.

 

[49Merc]

Thanks everyone.

My sub's current site is seemingly odd but is where it sounds best after doing a sub crawl. I know quite a bit but my knowledge is not well rounded hence me reaching out to you folks. Audyssey has truly helped us gain better audio.

 

[CinemaSound7]

The first thing that might be helpful to understand is that lower bass frequencies are omni-directional and don't function at all like higher frequencies. Here is a succinct article that may be helpful there:

http://www.soundandvision.com/content/schroeder-frequency-show-and-tell-part-1

What others are getting at is that there's no way to know what the best placement for a sub is in a given room. Even if they had all your room dimensions they could only make an educated guess since there are so many variable. I've heard other members mention the "Murphy's law of subwoofer placement," the idea being that where a sub looks best is rarely where it sounds best. So you could do the subwoofer crawl (Google it) or simply move the sub around to different places till you find what sounds best to you. (Be sure to rerun Audyssey after each change.) If you really get into it you could download Room EQ Wizard (a free program) and a buy a USB calibration mic (< $100). This would allow you to measure the frequency response at your main listening position with the sub in each location.

Thank you for this. Has helped me understand a lot better as well.

 

[blazar]

Actually a subwoofer in the center of the front wall isn't necessarily terrible. This is especially true if you can do another subwoofer in the middle of the back wall. While you are at it, a sub in the center of the side walls would also be optimal.

 

[49Merc]

Thanks for the suggestion.