Down firing sub placed on it side?

polk500

So in our newly finish HT Room the floor is engineer hard wood on a product called one step which is about a 1/2 inch thick that provides a thermal break as well as a vapor barrier on a concrete floor. As well if water does start coming into the basement it can flow under this product as it is dimpled. I shouldn't have a issue with water hopefully we have owned this home for 12 years and never had a drop of water

I've read that's this is not ideal for a down firing sub although it sounds fine to me.

I was thinking of placing it on it side with one inch rubber pads that I have.

Have anyone tried this and if so what were the results good or bad.

aboroth00

Hi there,

It really depends on how the sub is designed. Certain subs are only meant to be downfiring. Certain subs have downfiring ports which are meant to be fired into the ground so there is a loading effect. Other subs do this just for aesthetic reasons so you don't have to see the driver. It is best to ask the manufacturer in this case.

Which sub are you using?

polk500

It's a KEF 1000.2

polk500

Just a quick update,

I tried the sub on it side and basically what happen it make me aware of where it was located if that makes since. Instead of just added depth to music.

audiomagnate

I have a VMPS Larger sub that was designed to be downward firing. It even has feet that surround the bottom except in the front so it's effectively slot loaded. I tipped it up on its side, and it sounded better, but looks like hell. If it sounds good, do it!

mantis

If you want a front firing sub , sell your down firing sub and get one.

Face

Try aiming it in another direction, such as towards a wall. Also, try lowering the crossover point.

To add onto what aboroth00 stated, it can affect tuning if the port is facing down too, but only by a few hz.

Since a sub's crossover is usually 24db/octave and not a brick wall, some higher frequency information will pass through the cone. One other advantage of down firing subs is that by having the woofer face the floor, it cancels out some of the higher frequencies coming out of the enclosure, making localization more difficult.

One more thing about down firing subs, a down firing sub can usually be placed on it's side. But a sub designed to be front firing, can't always be used in the down firing position, there is a formula to determine if a driver can be placed in either position: http://www.parts-express.com/resources/woofer-mount-up-down.cfm Lastly, a passive radiator should never be used horizontally, it will sag too much and cause poor performance.