Subwoofer right next to tower. Bad idea?

[Mattman]

I recently moved my subwoofer from atop a small, wood cabinet to the floor. The sound is sooo much better now. However, the subwoofer is now almost corner to corner with my tower, with 90 degrees between them. OK I guess a drawing would help:

| | Tower
| |
-----
-------
* * * |
Sub |
* * * |
-------

I can feel the rumble from the sub vibrating the tower pretty good. Out of curiousity, would having my subwoofer that close to my tower cause some negative effects?

[HAL9000]

A definite possible maybe, maybe not. I think the only component that I would really be concerned about is the hard drive. Hard drives can be prone to damage from excess levels of vibration. Depending on how everything sits, the transmission of the vibration could be dampend (good), remain the same (depends on the level), or amplified (bad) but the time it gets to your hard drive. Too much vibration at the drive heads could cause them to come in contact with the platter causing physical damage.

I suppose that over time, vibration could cause cards/ram/cpu or whatever to work their way out of the sockets a bit, but I wouldn't think this should be of major concern.

I'm really curious as to what Toaster has to say about this subject.

[Electron]

You can get little 'legs' only an inch or so to put on the bottom of the subwoofer and you feel no vibration carried through the floor.
My subwoofer sits on the fire grate (the fire is never on) so it is raised about 1 1/2 inches from the floor but it sits right next to tower with no vibration.

[Toaster]

Hi folks,
I`m not sure that constant vibration is good for computer gear.
However, you didn`t suggest your listening preferences.
I guess my biggest concearn would be "magnetic" problems stemming from the motor structure of the subwoofer.
If you often listen loudly, with the bass cranked up, you might be in for a problem down the road.
The ideal location for a sub is in a corner. This offers optimum "coupling" with the room. For some however, the bass output could be more then they like.
Try moving the sub away from the user. Subs are not ment to be "heard" but to reinforce the output of the other drivers.
From a technical standpoint, the use of the word "subwoofer" is incorrect for most any computer related bass output speaker.
A "sub" is often crossed over at very low frequencies and thus is not actually "heard". These frequencies are often below 60hz and often below 40hz.
For those with a typical 3 speaker set-up, (left, right, sub) locate the sub behind you by at least 6 feet (8 to 10 feet or more) and the left/right speakers located at the same plane and 6-8 feet apart.
Also, try firing the sub away from the listening area and maybe even against a wall. Experiment with placement as there is no set fast rule and also of listener taste.

[Werewolfdaddy]

My altec speakers/subwoofer are supposed to be magnetically shielded. My owner's manual claims that they pose no danger to towers. Is this mere bologna or can I keep them relatively close? Right now, I have the subwoofer about 2 feet from my tower, but on a shelf.

[jotto84]

i think you're OK then. But for the heck of it, read Toaster's intellectual post

[morriswindgate]

All computer speakers are magnetically shielded to prevent damage due to electromagnetic waves.
The concern I would have would be the same as Hal9000, that is vibration. The vibration from a sub woofer could easily be enough to cause screws (Motherboard mounts) to loosen, cards to back out, and other parts to shift. This could in turn lead to just enough loss of contact in a card or in the case of the MOBO make contact to short something out. Additionally vibration cam break solder joints and component leads. Not to mention that you might be playing your favorite tune or game and not hear the Heatsink and Fan crash into everything after vibrating loose.
Do yourself a favor and put it on the floor where it was designed to be

[Toaster]

Hello folks,
Most Altec Lansing computer based speaker arrays are quite mild.
The typical 6 1/2" "subwoofer" on these models are crossed over at 250hz and sometimes higher. The satilite drivers work with signals above about 250hz.
With these crossover points in mind and assuming a typical listening room to be about 12'x12', the satilites should be placed 6' apart on the same plane of about the center of the monitor. The "bass module" (sub to you folks), would perform optimumly BEHIND the listener, on the floor, about 6-8'.
Locating the bass module in a corner, behind the listener would boost bass output (actually reinforce) and give a quasi-surround sound quality.
These systems sound best with the frequency range of 100-200hz depressed by about 3db or more to eliminate "boomieness".
These type speakers should pose no threat to your system under most conditions.
The remaing mounting scheme would be the bass module behind the tower, laying on its side with the vent facing the wall. (dependant on cable lengths).
Obviously, one shouldn`t set bass modules "on" or very near monitors or the system case directly.

Bass module on a shelf:
This would decouple the module from the floor giving reduced bass output but at the same time reducing "boomieness" giving a cleaner output.
If the bass module is higher then the satilite drivers plane then the "stereo image" would "smear" and redirect listener attention above the satilite plane inducing "fatigue" because the listeners "brain" would be tricked into a stereo image that extends ABOVE the actual image.


Hows that for senseless babbling?

[Floppyman]

Yep, I've heard the best place for a sub is in the corner against the wall as it somehow helps the sound. I've tried it and agree that when placed in the corner against the wall it does sound better.