Subwoofer location under audio component rack?

[HedgeHog]

Hi,

Wondering if it's a bad idea to place my sub in a space between two audio racks? This is what I had in mind.



TIA.

-Hedwig

[bigburner]

Hi Hedwig,

As you can see from the attached photo my sub is in a similar place. It's been there for over a year and I haven't experienced any problems. The closed-box, front-firing design and rubber feet probably help.

Nigel.

[scarpi]

The only issue I see is that your CD/DVD player might pick up some vibrations from the sub with it that close. I would do the following to make sure the electronics are isolated from your sub.
1. make sure there is a space between your sub cabinet and the equipment rack.
2. rubber feet under the sub will help isolate it also.
3. I would recommend also using something called "vibrapods" under the feet of your cd and dvd player. They are a commercially available product and there are different models depending on the weight they have to support and they are not expensive. They are basically rubber shock absorbers for your sensitive gear. I use them under my cd player to isolate it even though my sub is not near my electronics. :T

[HedgeHog]

Thx for the input, guys!

Nigel: does the sub sitting on that platform not transmit enough vibration to affect other components?


Scarpi: The sub will be on carpet and the equipment rack will most likely be two Rack of Silence.




As you both have surmised, it's vibration and its affect on other components that I am concerned about. During ARO calibration, the F113 shook the room. But it it's ok where I want it to be, then I'll splurge on those racks...otherwise, I gotta keep looking.

So these are more updated mockups:





Thx again.

Cheers,
-H

[scarpi]

Hedgehog, your designs look fantastic. Nice gear, should sound great! ;x(

[bigburner]

Nigel: does the sub sitting on that platform not transmit enough vibration to affect other components?

The only effect on other components is when I have the turntable tray pulled out. However this never happens as I always play vinyl with it fully pushed in so it's not an issue.

I listen to a lot of music, some of it pretty loud at times (particularly concert DVDs) so if there was a problem I would have experienced it by now.

As I mentioned previously, my ASW750 sub is a closed-box, front-firing design with rubber feet so most of the sound comes out the front. A different type of sub might not work as well.

The benefit of having your sub dead centre is so compelling for concert DVDs that it's worth doing if you possibly can.

Nigel.

[maseline_98]

Thx for the input, guys!

Nigel: does the sub sitting on that platform not transmit enough vibration to affect other components?


Scarpi: The sub will be on carpet and the equipment rack will most likely be two Rack of Silence.




As you both have surmised, it's vibration and its affect on other components that I am concerned about. During ARO calibration, the F113 shook the room. But it it's ok where I want it to be, then I'll splurge on those racks...otherwise, I gotta keep looking.

So these are more updated mockups:





Thx again.

Cheers,
-H

I'm curious as to what design program you used to make that. It looks amazing!

[HedgeHog]

The benefit of having your sub dead centre is so compelling for concert DVDs that it's worth doing if you possibly can.

Nigel.

So it's a benefit to have the sub centered? I was hoping it would help but other forums poo-poo'd the idea. Guess I'll have to try it and see (or hear :rofl: ).


Maseline_98: I used Sketchup. http://sketchup.google.com/ The models I imported were free and other zealots made them. It's not as precise as I wanted but the rendering was nice. I tried importing accurate drawings from AutoCad but the app flattened my 3D drawing...boo.

[Rogodin]

I'm very curious too (about the software to render that layout)!

Thanks

Rogo

[gd]

So it's a benefit to have the sub centered? I was hoping it would help but other forums poo-poo'd the idea. Guess I'll have to try it and see (or hear :rofl: ).

Experimenting is recommended in any event.

The reason the centered placement was, uhhh, poo-poo'd elsewhere is that the conventional default placement of most subs is in a room corner... subs sort of "play the room", or use close-proximity walls to reinforce the LF soundwaves.

Your sub's front-firing design might well help you out in your situation... a lot will have to do with your expectations of sound quality, as well... as it is, it doesn't look like you have many options, placement-wise... but as you experiment, consider placing the sub in even a rear corner of the room (if the room is relatively small and enclosed).

If decor is of utmost importance, then I can't help you, even though the room layout does look nice... room aesthetics and good sound are difficult to reconcile.

[bigburner]

So it's a benefit to have the sub centered? I was hoping it would help but other forums poo-poo'd the idea. Guess I'll have to try it and see (or hear :rofl: )..

On 99% of concert DVDs the kick drum and bass guitar are mixed dead centre in the soundstage. It is therefore much easier to integrate your sub with your floorstanders if the sub is situated dead centre between your floorstanders.

The lowest note on a 4-string electric bass is 41Hz. The frequency of a kick drum is about 60Hz. If your sub plays from 80Hz and below - or even 60Hz and below - then a lot of that sound is going to come from the sub.

A lot of people say that it doesn't matter where the sub is located because low frequencies are non directional. Well I can definitely tell if the kick drum and half the bass guitar are coming from the corner of the room, and it sounds wrong.

Another reason why I have my sub dead centre is because I like to change the frequency of my sub depending on the DVD. [This is where I'll really be poo poo'd by the experts. However I'm less interested in theory and more interested in how things sound.] So for some DVDs I'll adjust my sub so that it plays anything up to 120Hz and below. As you know, the more the frequency of the sub increases the more directional it becomes. If it's dead centre it is much easier to get away with a higher frequency.

I started adjusting the frequency of my sub on the advice of a member of this forum who PM'ed me with a suggestion to experiment a bit. It was great advice. This chap - who is a hi-fi dealer - has never given this advice publicly on this forum. It's interesting how conventional wisdom sometimes inhibits people from speaking out.

For those of you who are wondering, I have experimented with the location of my floorstanders and my sub. I even had my sub in the corner behind my right shoulder at one stage. That was not successful.

Experiment.

Anyway, that's my rave for the day.

Nigel.