M-Audio SBX10 User Manual - Placing The Sbx10 Subwoofer
SBX10
Studiophile BX10s Deluxe Subwoofer13
d
13
English
Placing the SBX10 Subwoofer
The "location location location" cliché doesn't only apply to the real estate market. It is equally (if not
more) applicable to the subject of loudspeakers and room acoustics. As you can imagine, where you
place the SBX10 subwoofer in your room can have a huge impact on how it will sound. In fact, any
well-designed, powerful subwoofer can sound like a complete dud in your monitoring setup if you have
placed it poorly. (This applies for any loudspeaker, but it is especially true for low-frequency reproduc-
ers like subwoofers.)
There are many opinions on the best method to determine the optimal location for your subwoofer. In
fact, if you ask three different studio engineers, they will probably give you six different answers. But
we cannot emphasize enough how important this issue is, so please take a little time to think about
subwoofer placement; keeping in mind that the shape of your room, its dimensions (including ceiling
height), the wall construction, and any acoustic treatment you have can affect the subwoofer's
apparent performance. Remember, also, that the frequency of any given signal is inversely proportional
to its wavelength. For example: At 40Hz, one wavelength is about 8.5 meters or 28 feet; at 80Hz one
wavelength is a little over 4 meters, or 14 feet; etc.
Where to Start
First of all, you should always place the subwoofer on the floor when you are using it–never on a table
or speaker stand. One theory suggests that the best position for a subwoofer in a 2-channel system
is on the floor half-way between your left and right direct-field monitors, with its front facing forward
and in the same plane as the direct-field speakers. From there, you can adjust the subwoofer's posi-
tion until it is most "correct." Another theory dictates that you should start with the subwoofer in a
corner of the room's floor, where the adjacent walls can help the subwoofer maximize the amount of
sound it radiates; and then you can adjust the position to suit your specific monitoring setup. Both of
these methods are valid, but there is yet another method that many mix engineers have employed with
great success: exploiting the law of bilateral symmetry.
With this method, you would place the SBX10 subwoofer in the chair in your listening position. (Pre-
sumably, this is at the apex of an isosceles triangle between your left and right direct-field monitors.)
Play some music with substantial bass frequencies into the subwoofer at a comfortable listening level.
(Pink noise works great for this too.) Crawl around the floor of your room and listen for a place where
the sound is "fullest" but also "tight" sounding. Wherever that is–bingo!–that's where your SBX10
subwoofer will go. If you want to be more precise, you can use a 1/12th-octave real-time (spectrum)
analyzer instead of your ears and perform the same exercise. (If you do this, make sure you play pink
noise as the test signal and observe where the spectral response is smoothest and has the greatest
low-frequency extension.)
Please note that because low-frequency signals radiate omnidirectionally, you may find that the best
location sonically for the SBX10 is quite inconvenient (like in an area of your studio with a lot of foot
traffic). If this is the case, you can flip the Phase Select switch on the subwoofer’s back panel and
repeat the exercise, hoping for a more convenient outcome.
Finally, once you have placed the SBX10 subwoofer where you believe it will sound best, play some
material along with direct-field monitors, listening from your standard mix position. (Make sure the
SBX10 volume level, phase, and crossover are set appropriately.) If something is askew, try out some
new subwoofer locations. As always, feel free to experiment with different locations (and different
directions for facing the driver). You may inadvertently find a better way to place the subwoofer, even
if you think its current location already sounds good.