Downfiring Subwoofer on concrete floor

[sowecrazy]

I have a klipsch downfiring sub and my lisining area is in the basement with concrete walls and floors. What would be the best way to get the most bass? I have a 7.1 setup with the onkyo 605 reciever.

[H9k_]

In the corner will give you the most output but Corners and walls can "muffle" your bass so have one of your friends carry and place it around until you find a spot where it sounds best to you.

[Big Daddy]

Originally Posted by sowecrazy

I have a klipsch downfiring sub and my lisining area is in the basement with concrete walls and floors. What would be the best way to get the most bass? I have a 7.1 setup with the onkyo 605 reciever.

Keep it at least a foot away from the walls and put an area rug under it. If you build a riser for the sub, it will help its performance. The height of the riser should be at least 6 to 24 inches off the floor. Read the DIY Riser thread. It has a sticky.

[Hammie]

You've been provided some good guidance but remember more bass does not always = good bass. I find that a sub in the corner is boomy which is not accurate bass. I have tested this with my own SVS sub. Although mine is in a corner, it is one (1) foot from the back wall and two (2) feet from the side wall.

I find this to be a very nice sounding position.

Good luck!

[Rob J in WNY]

Concrete walls will invoke acoustic "room modes" to a higher degree. This is because you will get more efficient soundwave reflection/propagation off the solid walls, which combine with the actual subwoofer output sound to either reinforce it, distort it, or cancel it. As such, fine-tuning your subwoofer location will be more critical in order to get the most accurate performance from your subwoofer in your more "live" acoustical environment.

Like H9k suggested, move the subwoofer around the room and do some careful listening from your primary listening spot. If you are alone, try the old "subwoofer crawl" (placing subwoofer at your listening spot, play material with plenty of even, low bass - such as music - and crawl around the room, listening for the most accurate bass, and moving your sub there).

Keep in mind what louhamilton mentioned. More our louder bass does not equal accurate bass. Corners do tend to make subs a bit more "boomy" and less stable-sounding, emphasizing some frequencies over others, or supporting the phenomenon known as "one-note bass" (most all subwoofer output sounding like the same note). Listen for accurate definition of the bass, with a more even response.

With a little time, you'll hear the notable differences in locational subwoofer performance. It is often advertised that "subwoofer location is not critical because low-frequencies are non-directional." Where as the latter is true, the specific room location can be very critical.

My suggestion is wrap your subwoofer with cotton cloth. Give it a try man.