10 Pro Tips to Place Your Subwoofer with Soundbar Perfectly

Suppose you are in a room where you have a subwoofer and a soundbar.

When you are at point A, you hear the sound clearly, but as soon as you go to point B, your ears feel distorted or unclear sound.

This is because the subwoofer you have bought is an omnidirectional device. Omnidirectional means it produces sound in all directions. You can listen to it from any side.

But the problem is that sometimes the sound quality may not be clear in one location as it was in another.

The reason is that you have not placed your subwoofer and soundbar well. Their placement or distance is not perfect.

Don’t worry; I will assist you with proper placement, so you can enjoy the clear bass from any location.

Subwoofer and Room Compatibility

First of all, you should know the proper size of your room. If your room is large, then you should have largely sized and high-quality soundbar and subwoofers.

These types of rooms are mainly built for Home Theater or for, large gatherings etc.

But if the size of your room is small or medium (normal house rooms), then the size of the subwoofer should be medium too.

Sitting Plan

The next point is the sitting plan or sequence of your sofas, seats or beds etc. Try to keep your TV in front of your room, and so is the subwoofer.

If you have more than one row of sofas (or seats), then only the front ones will listen to the sound clearly. The sound may become unclear for backseaters.

Perfect Placement of Subwoofer with Soundbar

The perfect place for your soundbar is under or above the TV. (Under the TV is more Fascinating)

Make sure your soundbar is properly connected to your TV and wires are set up properly. But the subwoofers should be on the right or left side of the TV on the floor.

I repeat, on the floor, not mounted or sticking on the walls.

Corner Placement

Yes, you can place your subwoofer in the corners of your room.

But you should first test it by listening to that whether the sound is clear from all sides or not.

Remember:- If the face of your subwoofer is toward the wall, then be sure that there should be a gap of almost 10-12 inches between the wall and your subwoofer.

So sound doesn’t produce an echo, and the subwoofer can breathe easily.

Perfect place for the subwoofer

The suitable place for your subwoofer is in front of the room, so the sound of the subwoofer and the sound of the central channel speaker can be synchronized.

Important Note:- If you turned off the TV’s speakers and now your soundbar is working as a channel speaker, then place the subwoofer near the soundbar (in the area of 10 feet), so sound can synchronize.

Left side or Right side – Which is better?

It totally depends upon you. First, keep the subwoofer to the right side of your TV (on the floor) and listen to the sound quality.

Then place it on the left side and compare it with the right one.

Now you have to decide which one is better. Luckily, if you have two subwoofers, then one is placed to the right side and the second to the left side at an equal distance.

10 Bamboo Tips For Perfect Placement

• Wiring setup

If your subwoofer and soundbar are wired, then you should choose the place where you properly manage and hide your wires.

Otherwise, your wires may damage and cause short circuits.

• Face towards wall

This is also a good idea. If you don’t want to place your subwoofer in front of your audience, then you can turn it towards the wall.

But be sure there should be a gap between the wall and the subwoofer so it can breathe and produce sound easily. Otherwise, the sound will be distorted, and an echo will be produced.

• Keep on the floor

Never mount or hang your subwoofer on the wall. It is a bad practice. Your subwoofer may fall down and break.

Always keep it on the floor on either side of the TV.

• Sides

If you have one subwoofer, place it on the left or right side of the TV. First, place it on the right side and test its sound quality. Then place it on the left side and test it.

Then compare both and finally choose the best side.

But if you have two subwoofers, then one place on the right and the second on the left side.

• No enclosure

Never use an enclosure or cabinet. Always place it in an open area.

• Distance

The distance between the soundbar and the subwoofer shouldn’t be more than 10 feet. Try to place them closer.

• Central speakers

Make sure that your subwoofer should not exactly in line with your central channel speakers of TV or soundbar.

It should be away from them.

• Test it manual

Wherever you place the subwoofer in your room, test it manually by listening to sound from different locations.

If you’re feeling some kind of unclearness, then change its position.

• Room setting

If possible, change the room setting. Especially sitting plans etc. It will help a lot to adjust your device properly.

• Subwoofer size

Subwoofer size also affects it. If your room is too large and the subwoofer is small, then you may not hear high-volume bass when you are away from the subwoofer.

Try to purchase a subwoofer whose size and bass volume will be compatible with your room. You may use more than one subwoofer to manage it.

The above-mentioned tips are applicable to all kinds of subwoofers and soundbars like Vizio, Samsung or any other.

Top 5 Places for Placement

There are three types of placements.

• Front Placement

The best option is to place your subwoofer in the front-facing position.

Ensure that when you are watching TV, your subwoofer should be in front of you beside the TV on the floor.

• Back End Placement

Some fool people place their subwoofers behind themselves. Meaning behind the couch or seat on which they are sitting.

It is totally a bad approach. You will not hear the clear and equalizing sound if you do so.

• Close-in Placement

Close-in placement includes two things. One is bad, and one is good.

If you put your subwoofer on a closed shelf or cabinet, then it will sound unclear. This is a bad approach.

But if you are thinking about keeping it in a corner, then it is good, and I explained it before.

• On the small tables

If you have a small wooden table the size of your subwoofer, then place it on it.

It will help the subwoofer to elevate from the floor and throw the sound equally in the room.

• Mount in the Wall

If you have tried all the positions and none is effective, then the last option is mounting it in the wall.

For this, you have to dig the wall and do proper wiring. This cost a lot. You also need an expert to do so.

Remember:- Not all the subwoofers support wall-in mounting. Refer to your provider for more information.

Importance of Perfect Placement

If you want to listen to clear and fascinating sounds, then you should know the importance of placement. It matters a lot.

It helps to improve the bass and sound quality of the subwoofer.

It helps to synchronize the subwoofer’s sound with the soundbar’s or central channel speaker. Your whole gathering can listen to equal and clear sounds from any position.

It helps to improve the audio quality of your theatre. It helps to save extra power consumption.

It helps to save the effort of manually volume setting again and again.

Distance Between Soundbar and Subwoofer

The distance between the soundbar and the subwoofer is another factor which highly affects the sound quality.

The ideal distance between the subwoofer and the soundbar should be 10 feet, as shown in the figure.

This distance depends upon two things.

If the Subwoofer is Wired

If you have a wired subwoofer, then it is understood that you can only keep the distance as much as the wires allow.

By the way, wireless subwoofers are the best and more advance than wired ones.

If the Subwoofer is Wireless

The placement of a wireless subwoofer is slightly different from a wired subwoofer.

Most of the wireless subwoofers give 30 feet connectivity range. It means you can place wherever you want in an area of 30 feet.

But remember, the sound quality shouldn’t be compromised. In my opinion, it should be close to your soundbar and TV.

Placement of Subwoofer in a Cabinet

If you think that you should place your subwoofer in a closed cabinet or shelf so it can remain safe from dusting and physical damage, then sorry to say it is a bad idea.

Please don’t do this. As I already explained, the subwoofer needs a gap to breathe and sounds properly, and the cabinet doesn’t provide those space.

If you do so, the sound will not come out properly and produce distortion all the time.

Solution:-

If you have a cabinet which has a door or some kind of vast opening and enough space from where sound can come easily without any distortion, then you can try it out.

Size and Type of Room

If your room is carpeted, then you can keep your subwoofer on the floor. But if you have a concrete floor, then place it on a shelf or a small table.

The size of the room also matters. A bigger room means you need a bigger subwoofer, and vice versa.

Which Subwoofer is Compatible With my Soundbar?

The necessity of a soundbar with a subwoofer depends upon your need.

If you don’t want to compromise on sound quality and want everything perfect for your home theatre, then you may consider a soundbar with your subwoofer. Just like an Amplifier with a Subwoofer.

But remember that your soundbar should be compatible with your subwoofer.

Suppose you have both devices of one company like Samsung, then it is good. They will be compatible with each other.

You can contact your soundbar provider and ask him which subwoofer will be compatible with it.

The compatibility depends upon the company name and model of your device.

If your room or house is small and you just want a small audio setup, then you should go with a subwoofer & soundbar combination.

You don’t need to purchase high-budgeted home theatre audio systems.

Remember:- Some soundbars are compatible with only one subwoofer, and some are with many.

Additional Speakers

If you have a budget and you are fond of music, then you can add rear speakers in addition to the soundbar and subwoofer.

It is not necessary. I’m not forcing you to do it.

But if you want to experience the highest quality of music, then you may go with some rear speakers.

These speakers should be compatible with other devices.

Suppose your TV, soundbar, Subwoofer and rear speakers are of one company and compatible with each other. Imagine the bass and sound quality.

Final Verdicts

While there are hassles in buying and installing the speakers, placing them in the proper place is also a headache.

I tried to simplify it.

It is strongly recommended to place your subwoofer and soundbar in such a manner that the sound of both devices shouldn’t be merged. Otherwise, you will never hear the clear voice of any of them.

Some subwoofer and soundbar companies also give manual guides in which the whole process of mounting and placement is written. You can take help from them also.

FAQs