Need help...uneven bass response in room

[xpl0sive]

Hi Guys,

Needing some help with possibly Subwoofer placement.

I have a mini home theatre room/gaming room, currently running Paradigm Cinema CT100 5.1 home theatre system. I've had the system for a few months now, but have noticed recently that the bass is a lot louder and boomy on the left side of the room.

I didn't pay attention to it before, as I normally sit either centre or to the right, but I really noticed it last weekend while playing some bassy music. The bass sounded quite boomy on a particular song and sounded a little unpleasant to my ears (almost like a 'popping' sound, if that makes sense).

I moved the sub from current loctation (in front corner) out onto the side wall, and the boominess was gone, however I'm not sure if this is the best spot to place my sub, plus it's quite convenient and out of the way in the current location. FYI, in the current location, there is less than 2" gap between the sub and right side wall, less than 2" gap between sub and AV cabinet on the left, and around 5" gap between sub and back wall.

I was hoping I could get some advice on what to do, either move the sub (and if so, where would be the best spot to move it), or can I add some room treatment to fix the problem? I've attached a rough drawing of my room (keep in mind it's not really to scale). It is roughly 3.2m x 4.3 or thereabouts (can't remember exact dimensions). Just so the drawing makes a little more sense, I have the TV wall-mounted above the cabinet, and my front speakers are sitting on the AV cabinet. Rears are behind the couch as seen in the drawing. Also, the bits in front of the sub and NAS drive are part of the wall. That section where all the AV gear is was designed to be a cupboard/wardrobe when the house was built, so a frame was built there for doors to attach to, but I never fitted the doors as I wanted to set up the room as a media room.

[xpl0sive]

Anyone?

[tvine2000]

Originally Posted by xpl0sive

Hi Guys,

Needing some help with possibly Subwoofer placement.

I have a mini home theatre room/gaming room, currently running Paradigm Cinema CT100 5.1 home theatre system. I've had the system for a few months now, but have noticed recently that the bass is a lot louder and boomy on the left side of the room.

I didn't pay attention to it before, as I normally sit either centre or to the right, but I really noticed it last weekend while playing some bassy music. The bass sounded quite boomy on a particular song and sounded a little unpleasant to my ears (almost like a 'popping' sound, if that makes sense).

I moved the sub from current loctation (in front corner) out onto the side wall, and the boominess was gone, however I'm not sure if this is the best spot to place my sub, plus it's quite convenient and out of the way in the current location. FYI, in the current location, there is less than 2" gap between the sub and right side wall, less than 2" gap between sub and AV cabinet on the left, and around 5" gap between sub and back wall.

I was hoping I could get some advice on what to do, either move the sub (and if so, where would be the best spot to move it), or can I add some room treatment to fix the problem? I've attached a rough drawing of my room (keep in mind it's not really to scale). It is roughly 3.2m x 4.3 or thereabouts (can't remember exact dimensions). Just so the drawing makes a little more sense, I have the TV wall-mounted above the cabinet, and my front speakers are sitting on the AV cabinet. Rears are behind the couch as seen in the drawing. Also, the bits in front of the sub and NAS drive are part of the wall. That section where all the AV gear is was designed to be a cupboard/wardrobe when the house was built, so a frame was built there for doors to attach to, but I never fitted the doors as I wanted to set up the room as a media room.

You could go to Dolby or Dts .com for layouts. I was always told to try moving the sub around the room until you find the sweet spot, there's really no hard fast rules with subs.
Bass has a very narrow bandwith any ways. The boomy sound you talked about could be just that mix or your sub is to loud. If your sub has volume knob bring it down.

[xpl0sive]

Thanks for the reply. Most of those layouts suggest placing the sub along the front wall, which won't work for my setup, or in a front corner, which I've done.

My concern was that there may not be enough space between the sub and walls, and sub and cabinet, hence creating strong resonance and boom. I'm also confused as to why the bass is a lot stronger and less accurate the closer you get to the left wall.

I will experiment with different positions over the weekend. Based on the room layout, I'm considering placing the sub in front of the AV cabinet on the right side firing towards the back wall, as there is only draws on this side that don't get accessed often, or along the right wall just in front of the cockpit with the sub firing towards the left wall, or next to the door with the sub firing towards the right wall. These locations won't look good in terms of aesthetics, but it might help even out the bass response.