Question about subs. (1 Viewer)

[Dan Whalen]

I've been reading some posts, and everything that I've read says that if you have a front firing sub that you should put it at least 12" away from a wall and fire it into the wall. I've got a problem with that though. I'll be putting the sub in a corner behind a chair, so I won't be able to fire it into the wall. At least not from 12" away. Maybe only a few inches. How do subs perform when they fire out into the room? Should I look into getting a downfiring sub, or would a front firing one facing out into the room work? This is the only place I can put a sub, so my options are kind of limited. I was looking at getting either a 10" or 12", but not sure what brand. Thanks.
Dan

 

[Selden Ball]

Dan,
Where did you read about facing the sub toward the wall? My own readings have implied that the orientation of the driver isn't particularly important in itself. Finding the right plscement in the room dominates.
One reason that placing the speaker near a wall (or corner) is important is to mimimize interference (and thus the reduced sound pressure level) caused by the reflected sound. However, low frequencies have wavelengths comparable to the room dimensions. By itself, that particular foot or so usually won't make much difference.
Standing waves and interference patterns at specific frequencies are caused by the different reflections due to the speaker location and the room shape. They determine how loud various low frequencies are at the listener's position. Different locations in the room will have different sound levels at different frequencies.
The most effective way to find the best place to put a subwoofer is first to put it where the primary listener will be. Then go around the room listening for the best sound. Then put the subwoofer there.
In your situation it seems this really won't be possible. You'll have to find some other way to optimize the low frequencies that you hear. For example, you might want to consider geting an audio equalizer. That'll help you tailor the amplitudes of the different frequencies that the sub emits so that the resonances and cancellations caused by the room geometry aren't too bad.
See http://www.hometheatertalk.com/Local...berhinger.html
for a description of one equalizer that's quite popular for this application.
I hope this helps a littie.