Subwoofer down firing or front...?

Hi All,

I just recently purchased a Martin Longan Dynamo 800x subwoofer and it can be configured for either down firing (default config) or modified to be front firing.

I was wondering what people’s experiences have been and especially for 2.0 audio which is what I am using the subwoofer for to extend my Focal tower speakers. To add, my room has concrete flooring with about a third of an inch pile carpeting. I am also only looking to place my sub in the front left corner of the room as I don’t have too many options but can fine tune using the ARC Anthem software.

Appreciate and advice/guidance and thanks in advance.

Cheers,
Vin.

 

Front

 

My Velodyne is front firing, that works better (for me).
All the down firing subs I auditioned were too boomy in my room, though if you can keep a down firer away from walls you may be OK.
You have the option, try both.

That’s a nice sub.
If my recently repaired sub had gone to the scrap heap instead it’s the ML800X I would have bought as a replacement

 

I've got ported down (and up) firing (SVS), ported front firing (SVS), and sealed front firing (Velodyne, B&W, Yamaha) subs in the various systems throughout my house.

I could not recommend one type of sub over the others.

Jeff

 

Down for movies, front for music. Works well for me. Love my Rels.

 

Front

 

I had a huge ULD-15 Velodyne down firing sub, hated it, never again, always FRONT firing!

 

Thanks for the quick feedback everyone!

It sounds like front is the way to go so I’ll look to swap around. Is there a particular reason why front is better? What did you dislike about the down firing versus front?

Again, truly appreciate the feedback...

Cheers,
Vin.

 

Front firing *could* radiate more distortion harmonics compared to down firing. The drawback of down firing is this thing called "Gravity"

 

How do you think your speakers would sound facing the ground?

That said, I think a down firing sub might be ok as long as there is a decent amount of space between it and the floor, especially if it's sitting on carpet.

 

Do I understanding the question right.
It seems you have meassuring abilities into "ARC Anthem software".
Why asking when you just can listen and meassuring. By that you hear and see exactly what happens when you lay it down (maybe on a pillow) so it is front firing and Vs down..
And I would highly recommend you to start that software anyway to see what happens when moving the sub with different distances from the wall.
Remember that this is physics. In the regards of your dimensions of your room. That gives you room modes.
So if you are unlucky your sub placement regarding to a fixed listening position in a given room can/will dip of -10 dB at 50 Hz!
And that is purely physics and is easy to see in a meassurments graphs. And you can't break the law of physics. In other words the described issue above can't be solved by stacking several subs (or buy a bigger one) on each other by placing them at the physical same location in hope of solve the dip in the room mode.. it will not happen.
Only a change in sub/listening position can.

A tip is the free REW software. It has a room simulation part. (You do not need any microphones) you just enter the room dimensions and where your listing position is and where you place your sub.
The cool thing now is that you get a frequency graph and you can see in that simulation if you have a issue. But more than that is that you can select your sub (position) and drag it back and forth in the simulated room. And during the draging the graph will change accordingly on the fly.
So in other words you can tune the sub position/listening position. (Whichever is easier for you to alter if you need to do it) that way you will be able to optimize the placements for your room dimensions.

 

I know the cut off frequency will make a difference but don't you find using it as front firing makes the direction the sound comes from more obvious adding the need for two, left and right?

 

My Rel has an active front and a bigger down firing acting as a passive radiator. Works perfect, no boom!

 

I do just the opposite. Rel Stadium 3 and Kef psw 4000 fire down ,Kef r400b double front firing.
Did a switch with music a few times and results were the same- a well made down firing sub(s) is better and much more stealthy with music.
For watching films front firing subs seem to be a better match cause the wave launch from the sub can be exciting for car crashes and explosions if you seating is within a few feet from the subs.
So to me down with music, front for movies. John M.

 

Thank you. I don't have a lot of choice with moving the sub as it needs to live in the corner of the room to my front left. The room is quite small measuring 15 (L) x 12 (W) by 7.5 (H) - I will try both down and front as it seems that there is a mixed opinion/recommendation from all the kind posts, so I will see which one sounds best although at the moment, I have it down firing having tuned with ARC and it sounds pretty damn good with all types of music. I have read for the most part that down is better for movie (HT) watching whereas front is better/cleaner for pure audio listening.

I will also have a play with the REW software as that sounds very interesting! - Thanks again for the feedback...

 

I have a down firing sub and on carpet. You have now made me wanting try some experimenting. I think I will put it on some kind of risers and see how that sounds VS very limited space between it and the carpeting.
I have a front firing for my AVR system which is to the right of my right front speaker. Sounds good and not boomy. My down firing on my 2.1 system is to the right of my left speaker and lately have been noticing some boomy sound. I have that sub at a low level and there to just fill in that low end. After experience between the two I think a front firing sub is a better design from an audio standpoint.

 

After I rise my down firing sub I will see if my opinion changes down firing VS front firing for music sub.

 

subwoofers require lots of work to position and adjust in order to get the best out of them and to blend with your existing speakers.
put some effort into it and experiment.

 

I have a related question. I'm looking to add a sub to my system but I currently lack floor space on either side of my main setup, due to doors on either side:

Dropbox - IMG_20190507_2024394.jpg - Simplify your life

However, I could place a small front-firing sub in one of the square cubbies within the rack itself and move some of my LP storage elsewhere. How big of a "no-no" would that be, to have a sub vibrating the same rack that the turntable is sitting on? I have the stock feet on the Technics SL-1200 but I'm guessing that's not enough protection...?

The alternate plan would be to stick a passive sub in one of the rear corners of the room (on either side of the couch, from which the photo was taken) with a standalone subwoofer amp and just run a single speaker wire along the baseboards under the front door, but then I'd assume down-firing would sound better, vs. having the sub fire directly into one of the sides of the couch...?

(Apologies if this counts as thread hijacking!)

 

Don't put a sub in that cabinet, especially not with your tt on it. Furthermore, a sub wil not work in every place, you cannot put a sub just where you like it to be. The place needs to be right, it needs to be in a place where it can pressurize the room. Most untreated rooms will have null points with regards towards bass. Put your sub there and it will be useless!

 

Thanks, I was pretty sure but good to have that confirmed!

 

I like front firing subs.

I can't think of any reason that I would want my sub firing into the carpet.

May as well direct your sound energy out into the room.

Why let the floor absorb some of the sound or direct sound in other directions from where you are sitting?

 

I've had both front and down firing subs and each worked well in my room. My current sub is down firing and I'm very happy with its performance.

 

I have a large Polk sub in the rear that I will use if I am running my horn loaded speaker's as my mains with a 3.9-Watt single ended amp. It is down firing, but the floor is ceramic tile over concrete and not carpet with a pad.

I sounds fine, but I can reorient it to to front firing if I desire.

My main front sub is front firing, but it is a commercial passive sub and that's how they roll.

 

Hi All,

Just to provide a quick update - I moved the sub to the front firing position in the same front left corner, performed the ARC Anthem configuration and....No obvious/major difference!

Maybe things might be just a touch cleaner with the sub blending a little bit better with the main tower speakers but I also found myself having to increase the subwoofer volume a little. However, there was no huge improvement to my ears. I am going to keep it front firing and do some more listening but TBH, I think I'll just end up leaving it in the front firing position and simply enjoy the music at this point!

Cheers,
Vin.