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PLACEMENT,
SET-UP, INTEGRATION, TWEAKING
The sawdust has settled, there are still a few
splinters under your fingernails, and you can
always put the tools away later, really. It's
time to make that box jump off the floor. The
non-directional nature of bass has already been
discussed, and you will recall that specific
room placement of the subwoofer is not as
critical as other speakers in your system. We
also touched on the subject of standing waves
inside the speaker enclosure; it shouldn't
surprise us that we will need to address
standing waves in the listening space as well.
Bass energy is easily reinforced by reflection,
and as those reflections recombine, the
resulting buildup can cause very irregular
response in the room in the form of peaks.
Similarly, phase cancellations can occur when
the sound waves at a specific frequency cause
destructive interference and cancel each other
out, and create holes or nulls in the response.
Keeping the subwoofer out of the center between
two opposing walls, and also out of corners,
will help to achieve the most even, consistent
response. Symmetry is not our friend, here. In
some cases, moving the enclosure just a few feet
can make a noticeable difference.
Aligning the subwoofer along a line drawn
between the left/right main speakers will help
to keep the speakers in the same time domain
(yes, a foot or two can matter here!) and will
improve coherence. When properly integrated, the
actual location of the subwoofer will disappear
and the bass will seem to be coming from the
little bitty speakers on either side. Test tones
and measurement equipment can help you with your
system setup, but good results can also be
achieved by spending time with a couple of well
recorded CDs with which you are especially
familiar. You may find it useful to have an
associate (your spouse may or may not have the
patience for this) make adjustments to the
various system controls, or even move speaker
enclosures, while you remain in a consistent
listening position. After satisfying yourself
that your primary location is OK, move around a
bit to make sure that the wider soundstage is
acceptable. Now relax and enjoy beautiful music. |
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