[~misfit~[_3_]]

Somewhere on teh intarwebs Barkingspyder wrote:
Was reading a thread from back in December and it reminded me of
something regarding subs and how many and so an and so on. The best
information I know of on the subject can be found he
http://www.harman.com/EN-US/OurCompa...s/multsubs.pdf

They modeled and tested many possible configuration with up to 60
subwoofers, place in many kinds of typical rooms.

This should be required reading for anyone serious about high
performance bass, at least in this Spyder's humble opinion.

Skipping way ahead their reseach came up with the following
conclusion: "One subwoofer at each wall midpoint is the best in
terms of
Std, Max-ave and Max-min but does not support low
frequencies particularly well. Two subwoofers, at opposing
wall midpoints, performs very nearly as well as four at the
midpoints and gives a much better LF factor. One
subwoofer in each corner also has good low frequency
support, but does not perform quite as well as one
subwoofer at each wall midpoint, in terms of Std, Max-ave
and Max-min. If cost and aesthetics are considered,
subwoofers at 2 wall midpoints is preferred."

If anyone knows of newer research that reveals more information about
number of and and placement of subwoofers, I'd be pleased to know
about it.

Thanks for that, interesting. However:

Every room I've ever set up subwoofers in is different, considerably so in
some cases, so generalisations about 'room placement' are simply that,
generalisations. 2 wall midpoints huh? Opposite or adjacent walls? What if
some walls have large window area? How does door-placement figure? It's all
conjecture until you have the available subs in the particular room.

Knowing the theory is great and all but knowing how to adapt it is better -
and a good ear (or laptop / software / microphone) should always take
precedence - even when it goes against the theory.

In the end it's all subjective anyway as different people hear bass
differently - different frequencies louder for some, quiter for others...
When all's said and done some time in the room with a variety of source
material is the only way to set up subwoofer/s. Also taking into account
whether it's for you, or for someone else. If the latter then they need to
be part of the set-up process too.

Cheers,
--
/Shaun.

"Humans will have advanced a long, long, way when religious belief has a
cozy little classification in the DSM."
David Melville (in r.a.s.f1)