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You And Your Subwoofer
The world has a strange obsession with bass. There's even a whole competition series of people who pack as much into a car as they can. Because of this, there seems to be a "more is better" attitude when people bring their first subwoofer home and hook it up to their home theater system. Stick it next to the couch and crank it right? Sure, but you're missing out if you do. Instead, there's a really simple technique find the sweet spot in your room for the best bass possible without have to crank it.
The goal here is to get your bass omni-directional. This will let the one driver envelop the whole room and if you do it right, you won't even know where the sound is coming from. You'll just hear it everywhere. To start, move your coffee table if you have one and make sure you have a nice, long RCA cable for your subwoofer. Next place the subwoofer where your coffee table (or if you don't have one, near the listening position) was. For the next part, you're going to need a high-quality source for smooth bass. Hip-hop is a good choice as long as it's not too punchy.
This next part requires a little physical effort. With your subwoofer in place and your bass source pumping (not too loud, but at a decent level), get down on your knees and start crawling and listening. What you're doing is what many call "crawling for bass" and it will help you identify a good place for the woofer. What are you looking for? A place where the bass sounds smooth and filling. As you move around, take note of the way the sound changes. The better it sounds, the closer you're getting to the sweet spot. Depending on the material of your walls, there's a good chance it will sound nice near or at a corner. One you've found this sweet spot, move the subwoofer there and you will have given a nice +1 to your home theater experience. Obviously, you may have to work around other furniture or general feng shui. No one wants to trip over a subwoofer in the middle of the room. Good luck!
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