Pointing a front firing subwoofer

[Crypter]

Hello All,

So I am the new owner of an eD A3-300 (Front Firing) Subwoofer. I currently have the subwoofer placed in the right Corner of the room where my Home Theater is and I have the Driver pointed at the PRIMARY seating area. On this particular sub the port also faces forward. I think I am getting the best sound when I point the sub right at the primary seating area. But I am the type of person that wants to configure my setup in the MOST optimal way possible.

In a front firing configuration such at the A3-300 has how much differnece does "where it is pointed" make? Should there be a difference in where I am pointing it? Obviously I think location of the sub is the most important but once you find that optimal location does it matter where it is pointed?

I have thought about pointing the sub sideways away from the couch or outward towards the wall a bit, also away from the couch. you can see in my SIG photo's of my HT setup.

Thanks in advance!

[Big Daddy]

The low frequency sound waves have very long wavelengths and are very nasty. They can go in every direction, bending themselves if they need to and bouncing off the walls and create standing waves. It is important to remember that these sound waves will zig-zag around the room, and that sound sources are not directional like flashlights. A subwoofer is more like a bare lightbulb, or a light bulb in a box. Don't concern yourself so much with pointing your subwoofer in a specific direction. The most important factor is subwoofer placement. Experiment with its location and find the the right place so that it gives you the optimum bass sound at the main listening area. Keep it a couple of feet away from the walls and corners so that it does not become too boomy.

[Steve]

The way you have it is probably the best way for it. Front firing subs are generally pointed out into the room, or angled slightly into the room, as yours is.

On a side note, how well does your center speaker keep up with your mains? You can also upload pics and create and HT gallery on this site.

EDIT: Or you can just do what a smart person would do and listen to Big Daddy's advice.

[Grevlin]

You might try a riser with some padding to try and decouple it a bit. And it looks REALLY close to the Right Front so you might have some vibration transferring over to the tower. Some DIY decouple platforms for your fronts might be a good idea as well. -- All that is really low cost

Just my thoughts after reading through MANY posts... (Many written by Big Daddy)

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

The low frequency sound waves have very long wavelengths and are very nasty. They can go in every direction, bending themselves if they need to and bouncing off the walls and create standing waves. It is important to remember that these sound waves will zig-zag around the room, and that sound sources are not directional like flashlights. A subwoofer is more like a bare lightbulb, or a light bulb in a box. Don't concern yourself so much with pointing your subwoofer in a specific direction. The most important factor is subwoofer placement. Experiment with its location and find the the right place so that it gives you the optimum bass sound at the main listening area. Keep it a couple of feet away from the walls and corners so that it does not become too boomy.

Never seen it explained better. Once again .

[Sonny]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

The low frequency sound waves have very long wavelengths and are very nasty. They can go in every direction, bending themselves if they need to and bouncing off the walls and create standing waves. It is important to remember that these sound waves will zig-zag around the room, and that sound sources are not directional like flashlights. A subwoofer is more like a bare lightbulb, or a light bulb in a box. Don't concern yourself so much with pointing your subwoofer in a specific direction. The most important factor is subwoofer placement. Experiment with its location and find the the right place so that it gives you the optimum bass sound at the main listening area. Keep it a couple of feet away from the walls and corners so that it does not become too boomy.

Excellent post! Great info!

[Crypter]

Originally Posted by Big Daddy

The low frequency sound waves have very long wavelengths and are very nasty. They can go in every direction, bending themselves if they need to and bouncing off the walls and create standing waves. It is important to remember that these sound waves will zig-zag around the room, and that sound sources are not directional like flashlights. A subwoofer is more like a bare lightbulb, or a light bulb in a box. Don't concern yourself so much with pointing your subwoofer in a specific direction. The most important factor is subwoofer placement. Experiment with its location and find the the right place so that it gives you the optimum bass sound at the main listening area. Keep it a couple of feet away from the walls and corners so that it does not become too boomy.

Originally Posted by fireman325

The way you have it is probably the best way for it. Front firing subs are generally pointed out into the room, or angled slightly into the room, as yours is.

On a side note, how well does your center speaker keep up with your mains? You can also upload pics and create and HT gallery on this site.

EDIT: Or you can just do what a smart person would do and listen to Big Daddy's advice.

Originally Posted by Grevlin

You might try a riser with some padding to try and decouple it a bit. And it looks REALLY close to the Right Front so you might have some vibration transferring over to the tower. Some DIY decouple platforms for your fronts might be a good idea as well. -- All that is really low cost

Just my thoughts after reading through MANY posts... (Many written by Big Daddy)

Thanks for all the advice. I will try some more listening positions tonight when I get home. I am a bit limited for location as my wall unit eats up most of the wall space and so I really can't put it in the middle. I could move my right tower all the way to the right but then the L/R will not be equal distance from the TV so that would not work.

[Crypter]

Originally Posted by fireman325

The way you have it is probably the best way for it. Front firing subs are generally pointed out into the room, or angled slightly into the room, as yours is.

On a side note, how well does your center speaker keep up with your mains? You can also upload pics and create and HT gallery on this site.

EDIT: Or you can just do what a smart person would do and listen to Big Daddy's advice.

When I was looking to replace my old Center channel with an updated Klipsch model I contacted Klipsch and at the time they recommended I get the RC-35 as that was the closest match to my mains. I love my mains and I have had them for over 14 years. They have stood the test of time and still sound as good as the day I bought them. I have thought about replacing them but I just have other financial priorities and the fact is I spent about 1K on them back in 1994 and in order to get a set of speakers that match those in performance I would have to spend at least that much now (if not more).

So I am still holding out. I am curious though how long a speaker can last and I wonder if these things are designed to last a lifetime or if they will eventually give out...