Dual Front Subwoofer Placement +1… (1 Viewer)

[iAM]

Hey everyone. I’m currently working on finishing up the wiring and then gonna be putting up the drywall on the back side of my living room wall in which I’ve installed in-wall speakers. I have a couple things I’d like some opinions or insight on…

1. I have two Yamaha NS-SW100BL 10” subs in the front. I have mostly had them spaced apart sitting directly under the front left and right speakers. I’ve played with moving them a little bit but haven’t really had the time to do thorough testing. And there was a lot of furniture in the room that seemed to constantly be in the way of one or both of them, or resulted in a sub or both being moved. That issue is now gone but I am in a hurry to get the wall patched up for the “mud guy” to come and seal it all up. The last thing I have to do before drywall is to mount the receptacle and in-wall sub cables and jacks. My question is, should I put the subs directly below the front L and R speakers? Or go wider? Or narrower? Or is it only gonna be determined by my specific room design/furniture placement? I’d like to be more confident when I install the gang boxes, receptacles and jacks. And yes I do realize by even posting this I am looking for a shortcut.

2. I made boxes around the front L, R and Center speakers. And my plan is to tack up a piece of thin, dense foam (purchased specifically for the upcoming reason) the size of the box directly behind each speaker. The idea came about because the room behind the speakers is a kids bedroom and I’d like to deaden the sound as much as I can. I know I’m not going to be able to blast my volume while they’re sleeping but I was just hoping it would help a little bit. I’m also insulating the entire wall. The question here is, was the boxes around the speakers a terrible idea? Will that be a benefit or detriment to the audio? Also, is the foam pad a terrible idea? Benefit or detriment?

Thanks in advance. Hope I don’t sound like a total moron. And if so I’d at least like to be able to educate anyone who asks me about this.

 

[JohnRice]

Subwoofer placement is just more complicated than this. There's too many variables that we don't know. In general though, corner placement usually results in the fewest problems interacting with the room. That sub has a port on the side, so you don't want it right up against the wall on the port side, but a couple inches is really all the room you need to give. That subwoofer is a very low end model, so it'll just take some of the load off the front speakers, but won't contribute any real frequency extension.

I have to admit, I don't understand the idea of boxing in the speakers. Depending on their design, that might be OK or might be terrible. For example, if they have rear ports, that's just not going to be a good solution. I'm not sure it'll really reduce the sound going into an adjacent room.

 

[Eric_L]

Agreed; you are likely wasting your time with the foam. Your kid will hear the sub almost as if he were in the room. The floor will transmit sound sure enough, but with them being in the wall (mounted to studs) you have an even larger transmission surface. The foam does nothing.

For a cone speaker to work there needs to be action/reaction. It is ‘pushing’ air. If you seal it in an airtight space it will create a vacuum that will compromise your subs ability to push air and possibly cause it to overheat.

There really isn’t a perfect solution but here are some ideas;

1) headphones - complete silence for your kid, not perfect sound for you and you also will be oblivious to sounds outside your headphones (like a kid crying)

2) Use the tv built-in when you need lower volume. The kid will still hear it but it is less intrusive than a X.2 system

3) This will generate some argument, but it is a viable choice - skip mounting the speakers in the wall. Put your fronts and center on stands.
Simple enough… Here is the mind-blowing part - Put your subs directly *behind* where you sit. Right up against your seat. You will be able to get much of the feel and sound of the sub without needing them nearly as loud.
You can then also pull the stands with the center and fronts closer to where you sit as well.
This should allow you to keep the volume lower while still getting a reasonably immersive experience. The calibration will be a little off from moving the fronts but $5 says you won’t notice. You can even mark the volume on your subs so you can further adjust their volume back and forth while still returning to the calibrated value later.

Good luck