7
Positioning Your Subwoofer
Low-frequency waves (especially those below 100Hz) tend to be omni-directional, so unlike your main speakers, a subwoofer can
successfully be placed in many different parts of the room, not just in front of the listener.
However, many factors, such as room shape and wall material, can significantly affect performance. Therefore, placement of your
subwoofer is worth thoroughly investigating to achieve the maximum performance from your PS12. If you have an untreated
room, and don’t have the resources to measure the bass response of your listening area, your best bet is going to be
experimentation.
Walls and Corners
While it might seem like placing your subwoofer near a wall, or in a corner is a bad idea, sometimes it turns out to be an ideal
location, especially if your room consists of four non-treated walls.
Corner placement reinforces the direct sound of the subwoofer, and can sometimes smooth the inevitable standing waves that
occur among low frequencies in a non-treated room.
Center Placement
Some people prefer to place a single subwoofer between stereo satellite speakers. If you do so, it’s best to place it close to a wall.
Subwoofers tend to perform at their worst in wide open spaces.
Stereo Subwoofers
If you’re using two PS12’s in stereo, you’ll probably want to place each subwoofer near it’s respective satellite speaker.
Satellite Speaker Placement
Your satellite speakers should already be properly placed and set at a reasonable listening level before attempting to tune the
PS12. If they aren’t refer to the documentation that came with your speakers. The basic ideas regarding placement should include
the following:
Place your speakers on a flat, stable surface to minimize vibration.
Position your speakers at the same height, and maintain the same speaker-to-wall and speaker-to-listener distance for both
speakers.
The acoustic axis of each speaker falls on the mid-point between the speaker’s high-frequency driver and low-frequency driver.
Position your speakers such that the acoustic axes are at the same height as your ears.
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L
30°
30°
R
High-frequency driver
Low-frequency driver
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