Subwoofer setup advice

[Bubba]

Hey everyone, need a bit of advice with the setup and placement of my new subwoofer, I know I will have to do a lot of trial and error to find the best setup and placement and I don't mind that but would like some pointers if possible.

A/V Receiver is a Marantz SR4500
Fronts Tannoy Fusion 4
Centre Tannoy Fusion Centre
Rears Tannoy F1 custom.
Subwoofer Tannoy TS12

I know I can set it so my speakers dont try and play any bass and the subwoofer deals with it all, but I can also set it so both play it? Any advice or tips regarding this would be appreciated.

Here is a quick sketch of the living room layout if anyone has advice on what to do would be great.
http://a.imageshack.us/img101/6117/lilvingroom.jpg

Thanks
David

 

[valve90210]

I don't know that amp particualrly but on my Marantz, which is considerable older, I would set the front speakers (and rear if you want) to large which would make the amp send the full range to the speakers, and then select that I have a sub and it'll send the low frequencies to that too.

Then it's just be a case of adjusting the settings on the sub for the crossover/roll off point etc so the sub was coming in where the main speakers couldn't reach (with a little overlap so as to not leave any holes in the frequency range.

Oh and as for placement, some people swear by putting the sub in the main listening position and sticking a bassy film or music on, then physically moving around the room yourself, getting your head down to the height of the sub and finding where in the room the bass sounds best, then stick the sub there.

Valve

 

[Reality Bites]

I personally would set the speakers to small and point all bass through the sub.....especially for a mainly movie setup. You could try putting the fronts to full range, but With my setup I've set the crossover to 80hz on the sats and the sub does the rest. As for placement, it doesn't really matter. With my quad sub, you can virtually sit next to it and not know where the bass is coming from. I've got mine under the left rear speaker as it's the only place in my lounge it has room.

Does your amp have an auto setup feature? If not, get yourself a cheapish sound meter and setup the delays properly.

 

[wolvers]

Considering how much you've spent on that set up, spending another 20 quid or so on an SPL meter is a no brainer IMO. The flattest response that you can achieve will give you much better bass integration than just guessing the settings or doing what someone else has done.

Try all the possible positions for the sub (starting just inside one of the fronts probably), options for speaker size, cross over, sub level, filters on the sub etc.... With a downward firing sub, you shouldn't have much trouble finding a good position for it.

 

[AtticusFinch]

I don't want to sound trite but you should try it set-up in each way and fiddle with it until it sounds the way you want it to!

 

[Bubba]

I don't want to sound trite but you should try it set-up in each way and fiddle with it until it sounds the way you want it to!

I probably will do this anyway before deciding on a location, currently redecorating so need to get cables ran before I finish.


Where can I pick up an SPL meter for £20? I always thought these were expensive?

 

[wolvers]

My mistake, it's £30. This is the one I have;

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/rssplmeter.htm

Using the SPL (in the main listening position) plugged into the line in of our desktop PC I used Audionet Carma to read the levels of test tones played by my HTPC. The first run showed that I was way off with my 'not very well calibrated' ear and that there was a massive drop off below 50hz.

Some tweaking improved that but introduced some troughs in other frequencies.

After trying out all of the sub settings and tweaking the crossover point and sub level I eventually ended up with a pretty flat response.

It's slightly boosted in the very lowest frequencies but that's how I like it and I don't miss out on anything in my favourite movies.

 

[WILD9]

Almost looks too flat, have you tried a house curve or hard knee or do you listen at reference levels?

 

[lucid]

For movies you want all the speakers set to small and the sub taking care of most of the bass. For pure music you want the stereo pair running full range, no sub at all. With the exception of electronic music and organ music there isn't much in the way of ultra low bass anyway, so there's very little for the sub to do when playing music. Many AV amps have a pure music mode to allow this. Occasionally you'll want music with the fronts supplemented by the sub. Choose one of the stereo modes on the amp for this.

Sub placement - Bass frequencies are the most likely to excite room modes causing peaks and troughs in bass response as frequency changes. A good starting point for sub placement it to divide the room in to thirds width ways and put the sub on a 1/3rd line. Distance from the back wall will be trickier. Start with it hard up against the wall. If you have to move it out then avoid any distance that is an even fraction of the room's length.

Another option is to put the sub where you sit - so move the sofa or chair - and then walk around the room listening to bass heavy content. Some spots in the room will give boomy bass and some spots will give very little bass - Avoid both. Pick and mark spots where bass seems more even. Try those as potential sub locations.

Integrating the bass - Your first job is to find the best spot. Then you need to make sure the phase (0 - 180) is correct. If you lose bass level or the timing of bass notes sounds odd then try the other phase position.

Next, increase the bass level until you get deep extended bass information but not that 'brrrrr-oom' of overdriven bass that doesn't stop cleanly.

hope this has been of some help

 

[wolvers]

Almost looks too flat, have you tried a house curve or hard knee or do you listen at reference levels?

That's why I added 5db at the bottom end but tbh I haven't got round to trying full range test tones yet to see if the top end is right. Really, the house curve is matter of personal taste. I actually favour more of a U shape curve, but that's probably down to the type of music that I listen to.

What I was most interested in was that the lowest frequencies were there, as I felt they may of been missing and the first tests showed I was right, and that the integration of the sub and speakers was smooth between 50hz and 200hz which is wasn't in the second test.

To the OP, even if you just choose to experiment and set it up by ear don't make the mistake of just using settings that someone recommends or is using. We all have differing tastes and hearing ability so try them all!