Front firing or down firing? (1 Viewer)

[Tod Golden]

If an entertainment room is fully carpeted, would it be better to have a front firing sub? Or does it really make a difference?

Tod

 

[Dustin B]

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...der=descending

 

[Tod Golden]

Sooooo, either one will work just as well in a fully carpeted room?

Tod

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Yes.

 

[GregGreenman]

Tod,

Yes - bass waves are so big and so long - that they won't
notice whether you are side firing or downward firing.

Either way the subwoofer is creating a pressurized area
in the vicinity of the subwoofer.

The effect of the carpet will be the same either way -
essentially very small. It's not easy to absorb bass.

Dr. Gregory Greenman
Physicist

 

[Chris Tsutsui]

I would choose front firing personally...

The cone of a subwoofer has a weight to it.. and by putting the subwoofer in a downfiring position there should always be a potential "sag" to the driver.

This may not make a noticeable difference, but the difference is there and can probably be measured.

Thus.. a FF subwoofer will have less sag than a DF making it "potentially" better. I'd classify this reasoning under psychoacoustics though. hehe

Oh, and FF means more potential for positioning in a room because you can have the driver face in different directions, or face against a wall for more "wall" loading.

BTW, I have 2 downfiring tempests in my HT.. Works plenty well for me.

Hmmm I wonder if a DF sub is more stable though.. cause a FF sub could create more of a "rocking" motion than trying to lift the sub off the ground. oh well... heh

 

[Leo Kerr]

On the other hand, I've seen people worry about asymetric loading on the driver from being front firing. The down-firing always has the constant draw-down over the entire area of the woofer; the front firing has that same draw-down - but pulling it off-axis from the direction it's supposed to travel.

Personally, I have no idea.

Leo Kerr
[email protected]

 

[Tod Golden]

Thanks for the responses. Just didn't want to purchase a new sub and have that "what if" feeling.

Thanks again - Tod