Subwoofer Placement - ADAM Audio Sub 7 Bedienungsanleitung

It is common knowledge that low frequencies (below about 100Hz) are non-
directional, meaning they can hardly be located by the listener. It is, however,
a common misunderstanding that therefore the placement of a subwoofer
does not matter. It does matter.
Due to the fact that every room (geometry, furniture, etc.) is unique, the fol-
lowing descriptions intend to be a first introduction to the subject. The aim is
to assist you tackling the most common problems with subwoofers and room
acoustics, notably interference and standing waves.
a) Distance to satellites
In most set ups it is advisable to place the subwoofer not too far from the
satellites to minimize the chance of Interferences. Interference means the
superposition of two or more waves resulting in an attenuation/cancellation
or enhancement of the specific frequency/frequencies.
Furthermore, big refelexion faces in close range of the subwoofer should be
avoided if possible.
Walls/Distance to walls
b)
Generally, every wall in relative close distance to the subwoofer enhances
its sound pressure by about 6 dB. For instance, placing the subwoofer in a
corner of a room will make it about 18 dB louder. It is likely that this will result
in an impairment of the precision of the musical reproduction.
Another problem related to the geometrics of the room concerns the so
called 'standing waves'. These are sound waves being reciprocated between
reflecting objects, so they 'stand' (don't seem to move) in between these ob-
jects. The speaker continues to produce new waves that combines its force
with the first wave(s): a vicious circle that results in local imbalances of the
particular frequencies.
c) Give it...
...a try! The most important tool for finding the best position for your sub-
woofer are your ears. There are two rather easy ways:
You can determine your listening spot first and then compare the sound of
the subwoofer at different positions.
Another option is to place the subwoofer at the listening position and then
move around. Whereever the sound is the best the subwoofer should be po-
sitioned.
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Subwoofer Placement

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