Hey all - I need some help here from those of you who are very familiar with the dynamics of speakers, etc.

I just got a new home theater that came with an 8-inch subwoofer. Last night, I was testing it with "Fellowship of the Ring", and even had full compression on and low volume, but it still felt like Sauron was coming through my roof. :cool:

But, I really don't want to upset the downstairs neighbors, so does anyone have suggestions on what I can do to "soften the blow"? This one is too big to fit inside my couch. Right now, I have it sitting on a cardboard box to at least elevate it off the floor a bit.

Any suggestions are much appreciated! :D

Some woofers have a knob that controls the volume of it directly. You could also look in the settings menu of the reciever to try and adjust the bass...

In addition to what DisneyFan mentioned (both good suggestions)...

What brand and model of subwoofer is it?
Was it loud before you set it on the cardboard box?
What kind of feet does it have? Metal spikes or rubber tipped?
Is it in the corner of the room?
Do you have carpet or hard wood floors?
Which direction does the speaker in the subwoofer face? Front, down, rear?
Is there a port hole? It will just look like a hole with rounded edges somewhere on the box.

After you adjust the volume with either the volume knob on the subwoofer or the settings on the receiver, if it's still loud and boomy I can help you soften things up a bit if I know the answers to the above questions.

Originally posted by Bill Catherall
What brand and model of subwoofer is it?
Was it loud before you set it on the cardboard box?
What kind of feet does it have? Metal spikes or rubber tipped?
Is it in the corner of the room?
Do you have carpet or hard wood floors?
Which direction does the speaker in the subwoofer face? Front, down, rear?
Is there a port hole? It will just look like a hole with rounded edges somewhere on the box.
For starters, I've already adjusted the bass settings.

1) It came with my set - it's a Samsung.
2) Rubber tipped feet
3) It's about a foot away from the corner of the room
4) Carpet
5) Actual speaker is on the bottom, aiming at the floor
6) Port hole on the front, near the top

Here's a link to it, if that helps: Samsung (http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=HTDB600TH%2fXAA)

Thanks for your help! :D

I would try pointing it in different directions. The sound may be refelecting off the walls and floor of the room, magnifing it. Its a 100W subwoofer, so it shouldn't really give you THAT much unless its configured the wrong way and in a pretty small room. Are you in an apartment?

Since the bass sound from the subwoofer is non directionl, placement in the room wont make that big of a difference. If you remove the cardboard, the carpet should absorb some of the sound.

Check the reciever, and it should have an option to increase/decrease the signal to the subwoofer. If you check page 54 of your Manual (http://www.samsungusa.com/UPLOAD/ecms/manual/20030508114510406_DB600-SEA.pdf) you will see where to do this. You can balance your speakers so one doesn't overpower another.

Yes, I'm in a top-floor apartment. I should also mention the living room has a 16-foot cathedral ceiling. (Which may or may not be a factor.)

And yeah, I've adjusted the subwoofer to the lowest output which is -6db.

It's still rattling my floor very badly. I'm not so concerned about it booming throughout the room since I've got a bedroom on either side of it, but I need to be courteous to my downstairs neighbors. :)

I can make a quilted pad for it to sit on if that would help?

Originally posted by FEJ
Since the bass sound from the subwoofer is non directionl, placement in the room wont make that big of a difference. Actually, non-directional sound just means you can't tell where it's coming from. Subwoofer placement is very important to either quiet the loud bass or make it louder. "Corner loading" is a common phenomenon since most people prefer to hide the subwoofer in the corner and it can make the bass louder and boomier. It's best to put the subwoofer centered along your longest wall, if possible. If that's not possible then center it on any wall. If you can't do that, at least keep it 3 feet away from a corner.

Definitely take it off the box and set it on the carpet. You could even buy a couple small carpet squares and set those under the subwoofer to provide more bass absorption. Or even those backpacking sleeping pads made of dense foam.

A last resort, which I don't totally recommend but will quiet the bass is to seal up the port hole. The problem with this though is you run the risk of damaging the driver (speaker). It may not perform well in a small sealed box and could burn out.

As for receiver settings, make sure the DSP/EQ is turned off. If you have it set to "Movie" mode it could be making the bass louder.

If nothing works to quiet the bass then maybe you can work out an arrangement with your neighbor. Say...no movies after 10pm, or whatever. Or just invite them up for the movie and that way they can't complain. :D

Your right Bill, it was late and I mixed two parts of bass together. By the tiime I realized that, it was too late to edit.

I wouldnt suggest covering the port , as Bill said, it would most likely damage your speaker.


You may just have to play your movies at a lower level.

Thanks for everyone's suggestions!

I moved the SW further down the wall, and also placed an extra piece of carpet underneath, and it now seems to be working quite well, and only rattling things very sporadically.

My last SW was a very small one and fit into my couch, so muffling it wasn't a problem.

Thanks again! :D

There has to be some sort of bass management control, either from the receiver itself or the back of the Sub. If it's a 100w woofer it should have volume and crossover controls on it.
At the very least the reveiver should have a setup to allow you to balance the frt, rr, ctr, and sw using their white noise signal generator...adjusting ot by ear or a sound level meter. The Sound Level Meter is the way to go! You can buy one for about $35(analog) at Radio Shack, digital costs about $50.

You COULD always try hooking the old SW up to the new system, if the new one is too strong.

Since her receiver houses the amp for her subwoofer, there would not be volume or crossover controls on the sub (look at the link above to the owners manual for more info on this). All the bass management is done by the receiver. And Disneyphile already meantioned that she has the bass volume setting as low as it will go.

Disneyphile - I'm actually thinking of building a really big subwoofer. I'm talking about 4 feet tall, 2 feet in diameter (yes, cylindrical shaped) with a 15" subwoofer. It should be a killer. :D But I don't live in an apartment. Unfortunately I've got too many other projects getting in the way. Maybe after the bathroom is finished...

Since her receiver houses the amp for her subwoofer, there would not be volume or crossover controls on the sub (look at the link above to the owners manual for more info on this). All the bass management is done by the receiver. And Disneyphile already meantioned that she has the bass volume setting as low as it will go.

Disneyphile - I'm actually thinking of building a really big subwoofer. I'm talking about 4 feet tall, 2 feet in diameter (yes, cylindrical shaped) with a 15" subwoofer. It should be a killer. :D But I don't live in an apartment. Unfortunately I've got too many other projects getting in the way. Maybe after the bathroom is finished...
Thats what I call a subwoofer. You could make a real cool spiral port design :D

I know absolutely nothing about this stuff. That said, I'm wondering if one of those mute thingys they use on trumpets would work for the port hole. Cranial flatulence keeps me from being able to remember the proper name for it, but I'm thinking it could only partially block the porthole?

I know absolutely nothing about this stuff. That said, I'm wondering if one of those mute thingys they use on trumpets would work for the port hole. Cranial flatulence keeps me from being able to remember the proper name for it, but I'm thinking it could only partially block the porthole?


I don't think it would work. The shape of the mute wouldn't fit into the shape of the hole.