When setting up a sound system, it is important to identify the ideal subwoofer placement as it will affect the sound quality in your home theater. Positioning them in unideal surfaces may degrade the room acoustics.
Our sound engineers did the testing to know if you can place a subwoofer on a carpet.
Ideal Placement of Subwoofers
Subwoofers are usually placed in room corners as it produces a louder sound when in this location. Aside from the location, the type of surface where a subwoofer is placed affects the quality of sound produced.
The surface quality is especially important for down-firing subwoofers. A down-firing subwoofer has its drivers facing down, hence the sound waves travel to the floor. Most down-firing subwoofers use the floor as a resonating surface for a more boomy listening experience.
When using a subwoofer with a front-facing driver, you can try placing it in different locations in the room until you get the strongest and clearest bass.
Our experts did a lot of tests to determine if subwoofers can be positioned on top of a carpeted floor.
Placing Your Subwoofer on Carpet
Generally speaking, you can place a subwoofer on the carpet. The soft surface of the carpet absorbs the sound waves way better than hard surfaces, hence decreasing the echoing that is produced by the sound system.
Placing a subwoofer on a carpet comes with a lot of benefits but there are also fairly unpleasant disadvantages to it. Before placing it there, make sure that you have read the manual as some electronic companies advise against a sub that physically sits directly on the carpet.
Advantages of Placing Your Subwoofer on Carpeted Floors
As mentioned earlier, there are a lot of benefits when placing a subwoofer on smooth surfaces like carpets. Listed below are the main benefits our testers were able to prove:
#1: Enhanced Sounds and Acoustics
To boost low frequencies better, the goal is to reduce sound reflections in the room so as to reduce vibrations. High vibrations will cause the sound boosted to be scattered and unclear.
Placing your sub in the carpet will result in improved acoustics as the soft surface absorbs the reverberations. Another improvement you can do is to install bass traps in the corners of your room in order to absorb sounds.
Our experts suggest having dry walls instead of concrete walls to reduce sound reflection.
#2: Better Sound Distribution
Even distribution of sounds in a room is mainly affected by the placement of the subwoofer and other speakers. When the sub is placed directly on the hard floor, there are higher chances of uneven sound distribution because of two things.
One, there is higher vibration on the floor, and two, there is an uneven pressure distribution between the upper and lower portions of the room.
Put a subwoofer on a carpet or any other soft surface to decrease sound reflection. This will result in a more even distribution of bass across the room.
#3: Reduced Echo
Sound waves travel and bounce when they hit a hard object. When sound waves hit hard surfaces and get reflected back, we perceive it as an echo [1]. In order to have a better sound experience in your listening area, reflection and echo should be reduced.
When you put a subwoofer on softer surfaces like that of a carpet, the waves are not reflected, hence echoing and reverberation are highly reduced.
#4: Cushioned Subwoofer Base
Decoupling a subwoofer can give manifold benefits to your home theater system. To do that you may choose to swap the original stand and switch to a cushioned base. This will absorb vibrations and reduce the rattled sound produced by the speaker.
It is still suggested to put the sub in the carpet and not on flat surfaces to achieve the optimum bass quality.
(Want a more specific sub enclosures? Then, you can check the top subwoofer box material that you can use for the subs)
Hard Flooring vs Carpet
Some rooms have their sound system directly sitting on the hard floor. This is not recommended especially for subwoofers that have the down fire driver direction. This will reflect sound directly to the floor which in turn produces vibrations.
The hard flooring is considered to be the best medium for the bass tones to be reflected and produce echo, which then makes the boosted sounds unclear and sound muddy. If there is too much reflection in the room, the subwoofer’s channel may overpower even the higher frequencies.
Putting the subwoofer on the hard floor may also produce another major issue, the increase in vibration that can be felt through the walls even in adjacent rooms. Too much vibrations interfere with the proper boosting of low frequencies.
Too much vibrations from your speakers can even disturb other neighboring houses in your area. So think about the effects first when you put a subwoofer directly on the floor before proceeding.
Tips & Reminders
The quality of the bass tones produced by a subwoofer is affected by a lot of factors like location and type of surface where it sits.
A subwoofer placed directly on a hard surface will reflect the sound, produce echo, and increase vibrations in the floor and walls. This also interferes with proper bass production resulting in a muddy sound.
Letting the subwoofer sit on top of a carpet generally solves these problems but remember to read the manual first to make sure that this will not cause damage to your subwoofer. Some subwoofers may get damaged due to overheating so make sure to review the manual.
Remember that the sound of the speakers when placed on top of a carpeted floor may decrease as they are absorbed by the smooth surface so you may need to adjust the volume according to your liking.
(Looking for the perfect way to set up your car subs? Well, you can check our page about the best position for a subwoofer in a car here)
FAQ
Does carpet affect subwoofer?
Yes, the carpet affects the subwoofer. It absorbs the sound waves coming from the subwoofer so less is reflected and lower vibration is felt across the room. This then enhances the bass sound produced. Yes, the carpet affects the subwoofer. It absorbs the sound waves coming from the subwoofer so less is reflected and lower vibration is felt across the room. This then enhances the bass sound produced.
Does a sub box need to be carpeted?
No, the sub box does not need to be carpeted, however, this increases the aesthetic effect of the subwoofer. It does not affect the quality of the sound produced though.
Conclusion
According to our sound experts, there are a lot of advantages in placing your subwoofer on carpet. These include lower vibration, a decrease in echo produced in the room, and clearer bass tones.
However, remember to read the manual first as some subwoofers may overheat when placed on a carpeted floor.
If you are searching for other great subwoofers, we also have this list below:
