Don't set your subwoofer on the floor

[carewser]

When this came up in my youtube recommendations, I was like, what the fuck?!?! Is this guy serious?!?! He mentions "diaphragmatic absorption" or some such thing which sounded like bullshit to me but maybe he's right since his videos have thousands of likes. In part two he makes an analogy between subwoofers and muscle cars which I liked though. While i'm no expert in acoustics I do own 10 subwoofers, 4 of which are down-firing and unlike mid and high frequencies i've always understood bass to be non-directional yet he treats bass as though it is directional, thus the need to elevate subwoofers. It all boils down to him trying to sell a bunch of stuff related to elevating subwoofers and while there's little question that rooms effect acoustics, he's the first person i've ever heard that urges people to elevate their subs so is he a genius or a snake oil salesman?

 

[SIY]

It all boils down to him trying to sell a bunch of stuff related to elevating subwoofers

Stop right there.

 

[Koeitje]

If your subwoofer is transferring vibration into the floor through direct contact it is not heavy/sturdy enough.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

is not better have the sub at the same height from the main woofers?

 

[fieldcar]

Heh. I saw this guy a while back. I think I was researching room treatment. My BS detector went off far too late. But it was the fantastical quasi-scientific lingo that sounded the alarm.

For subs, the more stationary the enclosure, the lower the THD. While a heavier cabinet is better, I use carpet spikes to keep my subs from walking around. Both the JBL 550P and SB2000pro just want to get up and take a walk with the standard rubber mounts.

 

[Haint]

I sat my subs on plush queen size blackets folded into subwoofer sized bases cause they're only $10 and I'm too poor to pay SVS $200 for their Soundpath rubber feet. They wind up sitting 6-8" off the ground. I did this not based on any video, but to deaden any potential cabinet vibrations transferring into the subfloor or framing. No idea whether it does anything.

 

[weasels]

I mean I can try not to put it on the floor but man it gets heavy to hold when I'm listening to music.

Definitely feel it in my chest, though.

 

[HiFidFan]

He mentions "diaphragmatic absorption" or some such thing which sounded like bullshit to me but maybe he's right since his videos have thousands of likes.

Maybe. But there's also a lot of dolts in the world

 

[NTK]

Harman placed their sub on the floor in a corner in their "reference listening room". May be this guy knows things that Dr. Olive et. al. don't?

The Harman International Reference Listening Room

Last week I returned from the AES Munich Convention where I gave a paper entitled ” A New Reference Listening Room for Consumer, Professi...

seanolive.blogspot.com

Room front picture from is from this link.

 

[SIY]

is not better have the sub at the same height from the main woofers?

Why?

(hint: wavelength at 50 Hz is about 20 feet)

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

Why?

(hint: wavelength at 50 Hz is about 20 feet)

For getting the energy more directly in the chest (?)

 

[voodooless]

Harman placed their sub on the floor in a corner in their "reference listening room". May be this guy knows things that Dr. Olive et. al. don't?

The Harman International Reference Listening Room

Last week I returned from the AES Munich Convention where I gave a paper entitled ” A New Reference Listening Room for Consumer, Professi...

seanolive.blogspot.com

Room front picture from is from this link.
View attachment 156236

Don’t put a sub in the corner?

 

[SIY]

For getting the energy more directly in the chest (?)

Nope. This is all nonsense is the point.

 

[Weeb Labs]

Man uses pseudoscience to market room treatment. Not that room treatment isn't important.

 

[NTK]

Don’t put a sub in the corner?

Another sub in the back corner too.

 

[Inner Space]

Well ... lots of folks here spend time on the so-called "sub crawl", adjusting positions in two dimensions, and often finding good results from non-intuitive locations. Why not "crawl" the height dimension too?

 

[Ultrasonic]

(I've not watched the videos.)

In situations where multiple subwoofers are being used I can see a clear logical reason where using a mix of heights could be beneficial in the same way that a variety of locations in the horizontal plane is.

 

[voodooless]

Another sub in the back corner too.

View attachment 156240

That still doesn’t make it the best location

 

[Ultrasonic]

That still doesn’t make it the best location

It makes a big difference if EQ is being used. When it is, corner placement can often be the best location.

My own sub is in a corner, with its driver facing the side wall. It's in this location and orientation as it gives the best measured response at the MLP.

 

[voodooless]

It makes a big difference if EQ is being used. When it is, corner placement can often be the best location.

My own sub is in a corner, with its driver facing the side wall. It's in this location and orientation as it gives the best measured response at the MLP.

Yes, you get maximum room gain, but that does not mean it’s the best location for an even frequency response. A better location is actually along a wall right in the middle. Especially with multiple subs.