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Subwoofer placement for optimal sound – Tips

It is no secret that the sound quality of a subwoofer and where you place it are crucial factors in determining how good your home theater system will be. The subwoofer placement can also affect the type of bass response you want to achieve. This article will discuss some tips for placing your subwoofers to get the best sound!

How do bass tones interact with your room?

The type of bass your subwoofer produces will be affected by the room you’re in. If your room is small, there may not be enough space for a deep low-frequency response to come through as effectively as it would if placed somewhere with more volume, like a large living area or family room.

You can use placement strategically

One thing that homeowners might want to do when building a home theater system is adjust the positioning and proximity of each speaker from one another based on their relative distance—especially those used for surround sound setups! This is because every time two speakers are close together, they create destructive interference known as crosstalk which will affect the quality of the final audio output. You don’t have this problem when using just one speaker, but if you have five or six in a room with one another, the problem will be even worse.

A subwoofer is usually placed a few feet away from the listener but must also be in some corner or against a wall. When placing your subs back here, you’ll have to consider that they may not produce as much bass if they’re too close to walls and surfaces—especially sound-reflective ones like bookshelves and sofas!

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Here are a few tips to get started:

1. Nondirectional sound

Subwoofers are nondirectional speakers, meaning they emit sound in all directions. This is why the depth of your room dramatically impacts where to place them.

One thing you need to remember when placing subs is that it’s usually not advisable for them to be placed against any walls or surfaces other than those found at the back of your listening position—including the walls, floor, and ceilings of the room. This is because they will cause unwanted reflections that can distort your sound.

2. Start placing it upfront

If your room doesn’t offer corner locations for placing a subwoofer, place it upfront and closest to the listening position to get the best sound projection. The more forward placement also helps with the directional bass response mentioned earlier.

3. Or place your subwoofer in a corner

If your room offers you the opportunity to place a subwoofer in an ideal corner location, this is where it’s likely best placed. The bass response will be more focused and directional in that area by its placement at a rigid angle against two walls—this also means there are no reflective surfaces for sound waves to bounce off of!

The boxy shape found on most subs works well with corners because of their rectangular designs. However, don’t forget that they might seem less imposing or powerful when set in these locations than if one were trying them out through other areas, like side-by-side positions along the wall next to another speaker system.

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subwoofer placement - cornered location

4. Consider the cords

If you have a subwoofer in the corner of your room, run its power cord behind it and not through any other area. This will keep them out from underfoot, where they could easily trip someone up! Here are a few tips to hide your speaker wires.

5. The equalizer can help

If you feel like your subwoofer is producing too much or insufficient bass, try adjusting the equalizer on your receiver or using a digital equalizer to tune it. This will help to balance out frequency ranges and make it sound more even in volume throughout the room.

subwoofer placement - equalizer helps

6. Go for dual subwoofers

One thing that you might find helpful with building a home theater system is considering getting dual subwoofers for the best sound. This will help provide added bass response and depth and a richer overall listening experience.

subwoofer placement tips - dual subwoofers
When 1 subwoofer isn’t enough

Subwoofer placement – Closing thoughts

With this information, you should be able to position your subwoofer for the best sound better. What are some of your favorite tips?