I have a square living room which creates a subwoofer null

MikeUp

I can adjust the sub up to get correct levels but other listening positions probably have 6 db more output than they should have.

I have 2 ways of combating this which not sure is the best. I have my Velodyne Subwoofer in the corner facing straight out toward toward the room and TV wall. I've tried the sub facing all directions and tried the phase switch. Its the same no matter what, but having the sub positioned like I do offers the best quality.

My media room is a square room as well but the sub is not in the corner, but maybe 1/3 of the wall length away from the corner. The subwoofer output is consistent through out the room except at the door opening (as would be expected).

So I'm thinking of doing the same with a ~$300, 8" sub. The Kanto Sub8 or Audio Engine S8, both have the small foot print I need to fit on the wall away from a corner. The benefit is it will be right next to my main speakers.

Or using a Jamo S-810 subwoofer at the same position, maybe even closer to center of the wall due to it's flat cabinet and use it along with the Velodyne CT-100 subwoofer. The Velodyne obviously blows all these subwoofers away in low end frequency extension and output but having more accurate and consistent frequency response trumps it's solo performance. It's huge and only fits in one corner of the room that causes these issues. Previously when I was a single man with less stuff in the living room, I had more flexibility in placement but NO MORE.

The reason I chose the cheaper Jamo is because I would add it. The others would be themselves alone as I would sell my Velodyne and some other speakers not used, to pay for the more expensive, smaller, higher performing subs.

So what is your guys recommendations and experiences?

Emlyn

I found I much prefer two smaller subwoofers located next to the front speakers than one large one in the corner, regardless of the room. In my case with a 20 x 24 foot or so room that's dual SVS SB-2000s. I could have gone for the SB-3000s in that size room with the space I have but the SB-2000s do a decent job of rattling the walls with LFE tracks with the volume dial below half way.

If you wanted to go the SVS route instead of getting a Jamo, note that the prices increase starting on October 4.

MikeUp

Emlyn wrote: »

I found I much prefer two smaller subwoofers located next to the front speakers than one large one in the corner, regardless of the room. In my case with a 20 x 24 foot or so room that's dual SVS SB-2000s. I could have gone for the SB-3000s in that size room with the space I have but the SB-2000s do a decent job of rattling the walls with LFE tracks with the volume dial below half way.

If you wanted to go the SVS route instead of getting a Jamo, note that the prices increase starting on October 4.

Thanks, I'm on a strict budget for home audio gear, other priorities right now.

Unfortunately after looking more close, I couldn't even squeeze in 2 Jamo S-808 subs. Looks like going with the Jamo S-810, even by itself may be the best option. While it's low on watts, it still should be close in output to my Velodyne. After looking at the high priced 8" subs, what I gain in power output may be lost from their smaller driver and their low end frequency is better but not worlds better. I'll take my 8" sub from the media room and put it in the living room space behind my TV entertainment stand and see how it sounds in that position before making the move with a new sub.

Thanks for your help.

SCompRacer

Since you said you have no placement flexibility to experiment with, have you tried acoustic treatments/bass traps? They can help with room bass peaks and nulls. You still may end up with you have to accept what you get instead of you get what you accept.

Jstas

How big is the room?

'Cause the thing with big subs is that in small rooms, they can overpower the room and turn the entire room into basically a band-pass enclosure. So you're essentially sitting in the middle of a ported resonance chamber.

MikeUp

Thanks everyone. I don't want to use a bass trap, no budget for it and wife would kill me.

My living room is 15' x 16' and Media room is 11' X 12'.

I did some experiments and I can get rid of the bass null and flatten the overall bass response at the listening position by placing a small subwoofer about 1/4 the wall length, from the side wall, on the front wall. That's essentially where I have it in the media room but it's more like 1/3 of the wall length from the side wall.

I put my Polk TL1600 on the living room front wall and it sounded great but has it's limitations. It was right next to the hallway opening so it lost SPL but still sounded very flat and consistent around the room.

BUT a sub pretty much has to be 12" - 13" wide by 12" - 13" deep to fit in there so there's not many that'll fit. The ones that do are very overpriced for their lower power amps and lack of low frequency extension compared to the company's same larger 10" and 12" subs that sell less. Guess small subs are in demand, I just hate paying more for less.

I did find that the Jamo 10" flat sub's frequency wasn't speced at -3db so it's probably a useful response of -10 db. So in the end, it may not perform any better than the Polk sub I already have. Forgot to mention I actually have 2 TL1600 subs but I really wanted lower extension and at least 100 watts RMS output for my main theater room.

I have to make some decisions here, thanks for the help!

BlueFox

Move the sub from the corner and put it in the middle between the two front speakers.

MikeUp

I can't, I have no room to do that .

treitz3

Try raising the sub up on something and see if the null improves. This can be done on the cheap (just to experiment) by using cinder block, a stack of wood or other larger items. Put the sub up as far as the tweeter level, if need be.

Tom

MikeUp

Any one hear how the Elac SUB1010 sounds. They don't define a -3db on any of their subs.

MikeUp

treitz3 wrote: »

Try raising the sub up on something and see if the null improves. This can be done on the cheap (just to experiment) by using cinder block, a stack of wood or other larger items. Put the sub up as far as the tweeter level, if need be.

Tom

That won't meet the wife acceptance factor but thanks for the idea. The front wall works good, just hard finding subs that small. I ruled out the Jamo subs.

Still have a few in mind though. Might see if I can make some medium sized 10" subs fit. My Velodyne 10" is huge with many 10" subs not much bigger than many 8" subs.

MikeUp

Well, I did some moving. I moved my TV entertainment center and speakers around so that the Velodyne would fit behind the right speaker and to the side of the entertainment without sticking out into the hallway. Wife wasn't happy but I may have won this battle. Yet to be determined.

BUT OMG, the bass I remember from when we first were married is back again. My daughter couldn't believe how she could feel the low bass of Beastie Boys Intergalactic besides just hearing it. Listening to Snoop Dogg's "Pump Pump" played all the low extended bass with authority. I'm more a Metal Head but these are great tests for Bass. I also got my kick drum back with really deep dynamic and punchy bass! Putting my Velodyne on the front wall really flattened out the response, got rid of the null, and extended the bass at the listening position. Corner placement seems to be the worst place to put the subwoofer! Now I don't have to find a different, inferior, subwoofer! The down side is that I did have to jack the volume up 5 db but that's a small price to pay and I have more then enough headroom with that Velodyne. This is the exact Velodyne CT-100 I have, same year and version.