How to Maximize the Reverberation in a Subwoofer
Subwoofers produce deep, low-frequency bass sounds to create a physical sensation in viewers enjoying home theater. Explosions, the roar of wild creatures and the heart-pounding sound of an electric bass in rock music recordings will feel more realistic with a subwoofer thumping away. Much of the bass effect comes from reverberation, which is the movement of the subwoofer displacing air. Reverberation creates the sensation that something is actually moving in the room. It is. The heavy vibrations caused by air displacement from the moving subwoofer cone creates bass that can be felt as well as heard.
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Things You'll Need
- AV receiver
- Source component such as CD or DVD player
- Subwoofer and other speakers
Instructions
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Place the subwoofer in a room where there are no obstructions to air movement. For example, reverberation will be diminished if the subwoofer is placed behind furniture or the media center, or if it is pointed away from the main seating area.
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Dial the crossover setting control knob on the back of the subwoofer to 80 Hz. This control sends signals above that frequency to other speakers connected to the home theater system. The crossover then focuses the bass signal to the subwoofer, increasing reverberation.
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Turn the volume control knob on the back of the subwoofer to the maximum power setting. This will drive the subwoofer to the limit of its capabilities during bass-intensive sequences on movie soundtracks and audio CDs.
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Press the "Phase" button on the back of the subwoofer to test reverberation while playing a source signal, then press the button again. Leave the phase on the setting that obviously produces more reverberation (you can feel it coming from the front of the subwoofer). An in-phase subwoofer moves the cone in and out at the same rhythm as other speakers connected to the receiver, which increases the bass and the reverberation. An out-of-phase subwoofer produces less bass because it is virtually canceled out by other speakers.
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Tips & Warnings
Unplug the subwoofer from the electrical outlet before connecting or disconnecting the audio cable to the receiver.
References
- Photo Credit multimedia acoustic system image by dim@dim from Fotolia.com
