You’re sitting in your home listening to your favorite music. The song is great, but there is something strange, like the lower frequencies of the sound are not quite right. Fiddling with the equalization controls won’t quite do the trick. Do you struggle with this feeling that it’s almost perfect, but something’s missing? Maybe it’s time to read up on where to place a subwoofer, as putting it in the perfect spot will make you – and your ears – much happier!
Before you try these tips, choose a selection of music with a heavy bass line or some movies with a similar sound profile, so you can get an instant feel if you’re coming close to the perfect placement.
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TIP 1: Consider the corner of the room
When you place the subwoofer in the corner of the room, the low frequencies can be highly amplified as they reflect on the two walls behind it. If there’s a corner close to the place where you sit, consider making this move and listen to the sound for a while, moving the volume up and down.
There’s a chance that you’ll hear too much reverberation (that feeling that you can’t discern the individual low-frequency sounds, sounding just like a mass of rumbling). In this case, move the subwoofer a bit away from the corner to give some space for the sound to reflect nicely along the surfaces.
TIP 2: Exchanging places with your subwoofer
If the first strategy didn’t produce satisfying results, put the subwoofer on the place you usually sit. With the music or movie still on, take your time to walk around the room and listen. Where in the room is the sound better? Keep walking around and note one (or multiple) places where the sound quality is good.
After you complete this task, put your subwoofer in the first spot you noted and sit back at your place. Turn up the volume and hear the difference. You can try moving the subwoofer now to other places in your room where the sound was good and make a comparison.
This process is called “The Subwoofer Crawl”. You can see it in action in this video by Audioholics.
TIP 3: Go dual
If your sound system is installed in a very large room, then maybe one subwoofer isn’t enough to give a good, clear sound. In this setting, it is even better to have two small subwoofers than just a big one, as you’ll have more sound quality in more positions around the room, ensuring that you and your family can all hear those low frequencies perfectly.
As a plus, you’ll notice that the sound is much more immersive. No one will be able to spot where the low-frequency sounds are coming from. Another advantage is that with this particular setup you can turn up the volume to higher levels without the sound being distorted, which can really bring to life movies with great sound work.
In conclusion
High-quality sound is something that not all of us instantly value, but when people hear the difference it’s difficult to go back to lower-quality sound systems and settings.
By exploiting the corners of your room, doing the “Subwoofer Crawl” or getting an extra subwoofer to make the lower sounds smoother, you’re on the right path to enjoy music and movies in a different perspective. If you have any questions, or perhaps found a good tip you’d like to share, let us know in the comments below.
Now sit back, relax, and enjoy your new subwoofer setup!
