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Subwoofer placement
Subwoofer placement PDF Print E-mail
Written by ANeonRider   
Tuesday, 15 July 2008 00:39
Subwoofer placement in a trunked vehicle
QUOTE("Steve Brown head installer for Alpine USA")
The problem [with facing the subwoofers forward in a trunked vehicle] is that the subs are not loaded against a hard boundary surface of the vehicle. In a trunked vehicle, you have to think of the interior of the car as the area between the dashboard and the rear seats. If you place a sub box behind the rear seat, you are really putting it close to the middle of the car, definitely not the ideal position.


Now, you have two good, and two "OK" options:

Good
    1. Install the subwoofer in the rear side panel (or in between the taillights and the strut tower). This is called corner loading. Since the subwoofer is as far back as possible in the vehicle, there will be no rear sound wave that can interfere. As well, you will have hard boundaries to the rear, and sides.

    2. Install the subwoofer in an enclosure facing the very rear of the vehicle. Optimally, within a foot. This allows for the rear wave to exit through into the cabin of the vehicle, as well as the front wave to reflect off of the rear of the vehicle, and be reinforced by the rear wave.

"OK"
    1. Install the subwoofer in the very front of the trunk (against the rear seats). This is much better than facing the subwoofer forward into the cabin of the vehicle because it still has a hard surface to be loaded against, and the rear wave will not interfere with the reflected front wave.

    2. Install the subwoofer facing towards the trunk lid. This method is still better than facing the subwoofer forward into the cabin of the vehicle, but becoming less effective. There is still the hard boundary (trunk lid), and lack of rear wave, but the problem is, the reflected wave from the trunk lid does not flow directly into the cabin. This can be partially alleviated by installing the subwoofer on a slight angle towards the rear of the vehicle.
Now, having the subwoofers facing forward (towards the passengers) is not always bad, but you have to ensure that the rear wave cannot reach the front wave. In other words, you must completely seal off the trunk from the cabin of the vehicle. Same can be said for subwoofers installed in the rear deck, and free-air subwoofer installs.


Subwoofer placement in a SUV/Hatch

Now, in a SUV/Hatch, the whole cabin of the vehicle is open. This makes these vehicles much easier to get loud, and reduces cancellation for the most part.

Same principles apply as a trunked vehicle though, but there can be twists to them, such as the ported "CRX-style" box, which has the ports facing the rear of the vehicle, and the subwoofer(s) facing upwards.

Here is another good read with some pretty pictures:
Subwoofer placement
 

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