About Room Placement

Room placement is the first step in equalizing your subwoofer(s) to your main speakers and your room. Subwoofers operate at extremely low frequencies, which are primarily omni-directional (that is, you can’t usually tell where they are coming from). Placing the subwoofer(s) in the room is a trial and-error process which is greatly aided by the SMS-1. The goal is to find the best location(s) that result in the minimum number and severity of valleys in the frequency response curve. This is because peaks in the response curve are easy to address with an EQ, but valleys typically are not easily fixed because they represent a cancellation of frequencies that more power to that frequency will usually not fix.

As a general rule, placing the sub(s) in the corner(s) of a room will add to the overall amount of bass the subwoofer produces, but that bass may not necessarily be as low in distortion compared to a position away from the corner. The worst location for a subwoofer is typically far away from any walls, and close to the center of your room. Avoid these locations when possible. When using a pair of subwoofers in stereo, it is preferable to place each subwoofer by the satellite of the same channel. If moving your satellites is an option, they too can contribute to peaks and valleys and should be likewise placed through experimentation.

Now you can begin moving your subwoofer(s) around the room to find the best placement position. You need to find the best tradeoff between appearance and room response. Be sure the room is in the configuration that it will be in when you typically listen – e.g. doors closed, curtains open or closed, etc. As you move the SMS-1, refer to the “SYSTEM RESPONSE” graph to minimize peaks and especially valleys in the response curve. As an example, you might find a location that smoothes the graph as follows:

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Digital Drive User’s Manual