How close to the listening postion?

[2chnfornow]

I live in a small studio apt. of approx 400 sq. ft. How close must a sub woofer be placed to the actual listening position to overcome the room based effects. My sub is a SVS 20-39 PB+.

All advice is welcome.

 

[Botch]

I think its the position wrt the walls/corners that's critical, not to the listener.

 

[Flint]

Low subsonic bass cannot be separated from room affects - especially in small rooms. In fact, as long as the two parallel reflective surfaces (opposite walls or the floor & ceiling) are spaced less than 1/2 the frequency being reproduced from each other the room will have an effect no matter what.

For instance, most ceilings are 8 feet above the floor. It is impossible to eliminate the standing waves and reinforcements at any frequency below about 140Hz by moving the sub around. So, any way you look at it, you are a little screwed on that front.

My solution is to do exactly the opposite and take advantage of the bass boost you get from room reinforcement by placing the sub in the corner where all the low frequencies are boosted by as much as 24dB SPL due to reflective reinforcement from as many walls as possible.

 

[Botch]

My solution is to do exactly the opposite and take advantage of the bass boost you get from room reinforcement by placing the sub in the corner where all the low frequencies are boosted by as much as 24dB SPL due to reflective reinforcement from as many walls as possible.

I guess I'm not understanding this, why would you want to boost bass response so much? :think:

 

[Deleted member 133]

Ditto on Botch's question.

I'd tend to place a single sub, in such a small space, at a "prime number" position (in two dimensional X-Y space) along the front wall (first choice) or a side wall (second choice). I could be wrong, but this should give the smoothest response (or at least control as much standing wave effect as possible through placement alone.)

That sub, (I own the comparable 20-39 PC+ and use it in a 1000 cu. ft. space (my main HT) in a 2.1 set-up) should provide all the great bass that you would ever need in your space - and not need any "boost" from a corner position. I've got mine set up along a side wall (the front was taken!) and it is currently beautifully integrated with a pair of Koss CM/1020s crossed-over at 40 Hz.

But again, maybe I'm wrong.

Of course there's no harm in trying mine and Flint's suggestion and seeing which one, if either, turns your crank.

Jeff

ps. By "prime number position" I mean the following. Measure the length of the wall that you hope to place it on. Round off to the closest integer. Then divide that number into two prime numbers that are as close to each other as possible and position the centre of the sub's driver cone at that point. So if you have a 20 foot front wall (for simplicity I've assumed your 400 sq. ft. space is 20' x 20') you could divide this into 7' and 13' (two prime numbers) and put it there (which would be my first choice for this example. (Or at 1' and 19' (don't like); or 3' and 17' (possible choice).)

Jeff

 

[Botch]

The "prime number position" is normally completely over-ridden by the "SWMBO" principle (She who must be obeyed) and the size of that flower pot there...

 

[Deleted member 133]

The "prime number position" is normally completely over-ridden by the "SWMBO" principle (She who must be obeyed) and the size of that flower pot there...

Oh, I don't know. I managed to keep a 155 lb. SVS PB13 Ultra "hidden" in my main HT from my better half for well over a year.

It's not the space that we carve - but how we carve it!

Jeff

 

[MatthewB]

Not a damn thing wrong with near field placement. :happy-smileygiantred:

 

[Huey]

Not a damn thing wrong with near field placement. :happy-smileygiantred:

Come on Matt(I wonder how many times that statement has been said), don't try and pass off the lube dispenser as a subwoofer! :eusa-whistle:

 

[Flint]

My solution is to do exactly the opposite and take advantage of the bass boost you get from room reinforcement by placing the sub in the corner where all the low frequencies are boosted by as much as 24dB SPL due to reflective reinforcement from as many walls as possible.

I guess I'm not understanding this, why would you want to boost bass response so much? :think:

Because it generally gives the flattest response. You'll turn the sub's level control down to get a good balance between mains and sub. Surely you've seen the thousands of posts on the subject I've written over the past 10 years.