Sub positioning pros & cons...

denis87

What's the different pros and cons of the different subwoofer positions? ex. facing toward rear of vehicle, toward front of vehicle, facing upward, etc.

exalted512

in the trunk of a car, if you have it facing the rear of the vehicle, you experience a slight form of cabin gain which might make it a little bit louder
facing subs towards each other will cause cancellation
facing subs towards the front of the car might or might not yield better sound quality but at the expense of SPL
-Cody

AustinKP

Best way to find out is just to try it. Move your subs around, listen for a while, move them again, see if you like it more or less. There is no one place that works in every car. Experimentation is the only way to find out for sure.

denis87

in my old car it was towards the rear. in my new civic it seems to sound fine but i never tried it any other way.

bknauss

Placement can change from vehicle to vehicle for optimal sound, and optimal sound can definitely change with EQs and Xovers. As said before, try different places out.

MacLeod

If you place a sub in a trunk and face it toward the seats, it can cancel out some of youre bass. This happens because as the wave travels into the cabin, another wave, heading to the rear of the car, will bounce off the trunk lid and move into the cabin also but at a different waveform. When these two different waveforms meet it cancels out. Thats why, your bass will get louder if you open up the trunk. The out of phase wave goes out thru the trunk and doesnt reflect back into the cabin.

A better way is to face the subs to the rear. This way all the bass in sent into the trunk and bounced back into the cabin in the same waveform. But sending all the bass into the trunk also makes the trunk rattle and vibrate too.

Inside the car, I find it best to aim the sub at something. Rather than just face the sub toward the front of the car I like putting it in a corner, pointing toward the wall of the car.