[jgift]

I have a Lansing 2 speaker + sub-woofer. I had the sub-woofer on my desk alongside the speakers but was wondering if it's in fact meant to be on the floor under the desk. Is there a difference?
Thanks.

[chabig]

Yes. I believe subwoofers are meant to sit on the floor. I think that helps the base resonate around the room better. Certainly, they are meant to sit out of sight. They rely on the fact that the human ear can't tell the direction from which the low bass sound emanates. There is no reason to put it on the desk unless space requires it.

Chris

[jgift]

Thanks for the feedback. But if I'm to stick to my desk, resonating around the room is not important. Is there a better "sound" if on the floor, on the desk, or it doesn't matter?

[Spheric Harlot]

Generally, the more solid the surface a speaker is placed upon, the better.

The desk will resonate with the sub, muddying up the bass.

Then again, the basic rule of thumb: if YOU can't hear a difference, it doesn't matter.

Try it out.

-s*

[dampeoples]

If your floor is carpeted, it might soak up a bit of the sound. I personally have mine on a carpeted floor, it just fits under the desk better for me.

[CJM]

Subwoofers should be on the floor, generally in a corner to generate the most output. However, when we're talking about small sub/sat computer speakers, the "subwoofer" is playing into frequency ranges much higher than a real sub ever would. So in this case, it may sound better on the desk, closer to the satellite speakers.

[G4ME]

i am going to have to agree with CJM they're small most rules of thumb that go with real subs can't really be applied

[Casper Crane]

i'm not an audio expert, but don't you also have to consider whether or not the sub-woofer is magnetically shielded, so as to protect your screen and hard drive, etc?

i know that the satellite speakers make a point out of this, but the sub-woofer doesn't say, except perhaps on the Creature, which i think is meant to sit on your desk. but that set sounds like crap.

as for the carpet, i actually put a dampening towel under the one we have in the living room, because i was embarassed of what it must do to the neighbors personal space.

[fhoubi]

Put it in a corner to increase bass. The father of all subwoovers uses an internal folded horn design, PLUS 3 surfaces (2 walls and your floor) to enlarge that horn. Horns improves efficiency, f.e. it is the proper way to shout with your hands!

[Casper Crane]

Originally posted by fhoubi:
Put it in a corner to increase bass. The father of all subwoovers uses an internal folded horn design, PLUS 3 surfaces (2 walls and your floor) to enlarge that horn. Horns improves efficiency, f.e. it is the proper way to shout with your hands!

wow, thanks for enlightening me. i didn't know speakers could be that beautiful.

so that speaker has been built that way for over 50 years? that's proof.

seems you may be someone who knows about these things, so can you answer my question above concerning magnetic shielding and subwoofers? are they harmful to other electronics if they are too close?

[fhoubi]

I dunno, but I would guess satellite speakers would be better shielded than subwoovers, as they are supposed to sit directly next to a monitor f.e. You could test by putting the woover shortly next or on top of your telly or monitor, if the screen is not distorted I would guess it is ok. For myself I would prefer to have at least a distance of 1 feet between any speaker and magnetic (computer) medium. Put the woover were you like it the most.

The Klipschorn is a crazy, wunderful thing. I once had for some years the cheaper, but "bigger" (depth) La Scalas, with my self build single ended mono triodes amplifiers (3 Watt max. each!) running 2nd world-war tubes, they could do about 106 dBA! Go figure. How? Hint: read its efficiency... Good enough to have neighbours 1 street away to call the police at night. But you do not want to have like 2 washing machines all the time in your living room.You see below my "right channel" as of today, still running fine after 10 years of use.

BTW Watts does not say how loud a speaker sounds, and absolutely not how good it sounds. The Klipshorn proofs that, in positive and negative way, still after more than 60 years.

Last but not least: look at the Klipsch logo; it is the top view of the loudspeaker sitting in the corner.

Pic1
Pic2

Edit: Links instead of pics 4 non-broadband surfers. & ZigZag...: I rest my case .

[jgift]

Thanks for all the feedback. It's appreciated!

[zigzag]

The closer a sub is to reflective surfaces, the more its output will be reinforced. A sub sitting in the middle of a large desk (or on the floor in the middle of a room) will have only one surface reinforcing it - the surface it's sitting on. Move the sub towards a wall or any other vertical surface, and you'll have two surfaces reinforcing it. Move the sub towards a corner and you'll have three surfaces reinforcing it. Move the sub under a desk or into an open cabinet and you'll have five surfaces reinforcing it. Put the sub inside a closed cabinet and you'll have six surfaces reinforcing it. Of course, the density, hardness and rigidity of the surfaces also makes a difference.

There's no rule. Experiment and place it where you think it sounds best. I keep mine on the floor because I don't want it to take up desk space. However, I don't keep it under my desk - I keep it out in front of the desk because I like to have smooth, natural bass rather than boomy bass. Putting it on top of the desk would also be fine. If I put it under the desk it tends to get too boomy.