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Putting sub behind couch. Good or bad? (1 Viewer)

Jim Mcc

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I've got about 2.5 feet between my couch and rear wall for my sub. Generally, would it be better to face it forward toward couch and screen, or face it sideways, parallel to rear wall and couch? There's also a corner right there, behind left end of couch. Should I keep it away from the corner? Thanks.
 

Robert_J

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Since every room is different, you have to test the location. Pull out your trusty SPL meter and measure the frequency response.
 

Ed Moxley

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Behind the sofa was a great place for mine, in our old house. In my case, it helped me "feel" the bass better. My old sub is front firing, and a movie with sudden bass scenes, like The Butterfly Effect, the sub would almost knock you off the sofa. You could definitely feel it come through the sofa, and hit you in the back. It was a huge surprise the first time it happened.

As Robert said..........try it and see how it goes. You can always move it somewhere else, if you don't like it there. Good luck!
 

John Garcia

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Behind the couch is fine but you will need to calibrate for it not to overpower everything as well as be in phase with your mains.
 

Jim Mcc

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Thanks guys. But no one answered the question about which way to face it. Or if I should keep it away from the corner. If so, how far from corner?
 

Robert_J

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The direction will be determined by testing.

Distance from the corner is determined by what direction the driver or ports face. You need to give them a few inches to breathe.
 

John Garcia

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I'd start with facing the driver away from the corner. Sound waves will develop better along the longest leg of the room, so letting the first wave do this is often beneficial, but then there are a lot of factors so as Robert_J mentioned, you'll need to experiment with various positions to see what works best. The other benefit of having it close is that it requires less power to deliver impact because you are sitting closer to it.
 

Robert_J

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Originally Posted by Jim Mcc

I just thought there might be some "general" rules of placement.
Let the sub 'breathe'. Don't trust your ears. Use an SPL meter. Once you find a good spot, then confirm by measuring the sub's response.
 

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