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Subwoofer Placement Considerations
Unlike regular loudspeakers, subwoofers will often
work best when placed in a corner, even if located a
few feet to the side and/or behind the closest main
speaker. Typically the front right and left corners sound
the most natural, though rear corner placement is also
an acceptable option. The driver can be facing you or
be pointed along either wall. The low frequency sound
waves emitted by the Onix x-sub are quite long and
will therefore interact greatly with the walls of your
room. As a result, even small placement adjustments
can have a significant impact on the sound you hear.
A room corner will provide maximum output at a given power level, and the maximum
number of room modes will be excited, translating to a flatter response in most rooms.
Often one rather large peak in the subwoofer’s operational frequency range will standout
with corner placement.
The low frequencies played by your Onix x-sub subwoofer tend to be non-directional
due the extraordinarily long wavelengths involved. As a result, regardless of where
your subwoofer is placed, it should not be easily localized, but should instead produce a
balanced and enveloping response.
Factors that can affect performance in relation to placement and localization of the
sound are rattles from shelves, walls, or other nearby objects, as well as distorted
output. If you are having issues with subwoofer localization, try to isolate any rattling
or buzzing objects, or place the sub in another corner of your room. If the sub’s output
is distorted, check to see that you are not at the maximum sub level setting on your
receiver or preamplifier/processor. An overdriven output can induce audible distortion. To
resolve, you may need to turn
down
the subwoofer level on your processor and turn the
gain level
up
on the subwoofer itself to compensate.
One trick experienced home entertainment installers sometimes use is to feed a low
frequency test tone to the subwoofer input while it’s placed in the listening position
and then as you walk around the room you will identify places where low frequency is
greater (or less evident). This is easier than moving the subwoofer around. Once you
determine a good location - both audibly and visually - you should be able to make the
switch and place the sub where you’ve chosen the location and then you know the result
you can expect.
Finally, you can use the control of the subwoofer’s output level control (gain) and phase
control (0 or 180) to further blend the sound into the other system speakers as a
result of where you ultimately choose to position the x-sub. If you are using the x-sub
in a home theater arrangement, the bass management functions of the preamplifier/
processor will also help to compensate for some of the positioning issues, but remember
that there is no substitute for correct speaker placement.
x-sub placed in the corner of the room
Summary of Contents for x-series
Page 1: ...Enjoyment Guide ...
