Niles Audio PSW8 Treatment & Placement, Minimum Enclosure Size, Insulation, Enclosure Bracing

Treatment & Placement

Treatment & Placement

Typically, sheetrock encloses the sub- woofer in most installations. Sheetrock has a fairly loud resonant “twang” compared to the rigid non-resonant enclosures of most floor standing subwoofers. None of the following modifications are absolutely necessary, however any one or combina- tion of them will improve the performance of the subwoofer.

Minimum Enclosure Size

The PSW8 will produce magnificent results if the wall cavity behind the woofer is a minimum of 1900 cubic inch- es. If the wall studs center measure 4” deep (2x4) and are spaced 14-1/4” apart (16” spacing) you would want the length of the air cavity to be a minimum of 33- 1/3”. A larger cavity is fine.

Insulation

Lay a batten of fiberglass insulation (e.g. R-19 un-batted insulation) behind of the speaker. If you have more than one subwoofer in the room, place the same amount of insulation behind each subwoofer. If your enclosure is smaller than the recommended 1900 cubic inches, try packing more insulation into the space behind the speaker. This effectively increases the enclosure size.

Enclosure Bracing

Insert small pieces of 1x2 or 1x1 scrap wood as wedges between the front and back panels of sheetrock if possible. Do not use too long of a piece as you could create a bulge in the wall surface.

Enclosure Lining

Purchase some subwoofer damping materi- al from a car stereo store (there are various brands available, e.g. Dynamat™). Apply the damping material to the back of the wall behind the PSW8 and to the sheetrock surrounding the wall beside the subwoofer.

Speaker Placement Techniques

Although the PSW8 has extensive ability to compensate for unusual placements with its crossover switches; placement is still the primary tool for satisfying your particular listening needs.

Maximizing Output

The Boundary Effect – Placing your sub- woofer near the floor or in a corner will increase the volume of bass sound pro- duced by the subwoofer! This is called the boundary effect. Generally, you can expect a 3dB increase in sound pressure level by harnessing the boundary effect.

Proximity – Place the subwoofer as close as possible to the primary listening posi- tion. Sound dissipates indoors at approxi- mately 4dB to 6dB for each time you dou- ble the distance from the subwoofer to the listener. Therefore you can expect a 4dB to 6dB increase in output every time you halve the distance from the subwoofer to the listener.

Improving the Stereo Image

Place the subwoofer(s) as close as possible to the satellite speakers.

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