Subwoofer (Depth i) placement/settings question

[mrmasters]

So I recently set up my system and am trying a new spot for the Depth i. This is a Home Theater set up. The fronts are Mosaics and Fresco with Montages in the rear. The Depth i is inbetween the left fron speaker and the center speaker. There is a wall 6 inches behind the Depth i (front speakers are about 1.5 feet off the wall). Yamaha 2500 with all speakers set to small and crossover at 80.

So I was testing this yesterday and noticed that the bass drops off significantly when I sit down. However when I stand up, and only when I stand up, does the bass fill the room and sound great like it's supposed to.

Any suggestions? Should I try placing the Depth i all the way to the left (and hence would be in the front left corner?).

I believe the phase is set at 90, level 5, and 25 hz at +6 db.

Thanks for the insight!

 

[bober]

First of all congrats on your new ML system, you're going to love it once you have it set up properly. What you want to do is reposition your Depth i and then change some of the settings on your RX-V2500.. Go ahead and move the sub to the corner for now. Put it about 1 foot from each of the walls and start here.

Your speakers set to small makes it not take advantage of the woofer cones in your floor standing speakers. This a general THX standard and works well for THX speakers using THX wiring and a THX receiver playing a THX movie at a THX distance

Your leaving a big gap in the frequencies from about 60-200h.. What you want to do is set all your floor standers to large, your fresco (i?) to medium or small, and play with the crossover on the receiver between 60-80hz (depending on your preference and the room). Set the crossover on your depth to the same and set the phase to 90º. Don't forget to set the sub to LFE. Bring it down from +6db, thats way too high.. Bring it down to maybe +1-3 if you really like bass. But the advantage of an ML sub is its subtlety and detail, not its boominess, although it can definitely rock the room.

Now unplug/turn off your sub and listen to your system like that for a minute or two, and then turn the sub on and see how well it blends in with the rest of your system. Listen to it this way until you've gotten used to it, this could range from less than an hour to a few days. After you've gotten used to it, time to make small adjustments. Play with the phase more, play with the positioning, etc.

 

[Rich]

Bring it down from +6db, thats way too high.. Bring it down to maybe +1-3 if you really like bass.

This may or may not be true. The only way you will really know the proper setting for this is to use test tones and a sound level meter to know whether you have a peak or a null at 25 hz. But chances are it is a little high. I do agree that you should set your Mosaics to "Large" to take advantage of their woofers.

I would play with positioning as much as possible. Move the sub away from the front wall out in between the main speakers. Move it to the corners. Try not to place it equidistant from both the front and side walls if you can. You can also place the sub up on a stand to get it off the floor. Sometimes this makes a big difference. Just play with placement and listen. You will find a spot where it sounds the best at your listening position.

If you do some research on the web, there are some great articles discussing methods of sub placement. Good luck with it.