Powered Subwoofers, Down-firing vs. Front-firing comparison There are many different choices for Powered Home Subwoofers including Down-Firing and Front-Firing that we feature at OSD. Our aim is to provide Subwoofer choices that work in a number of applications. Each subwoofer we offer has been designed and engineered with this primary goal in mind.
The Subwoofer, the .1 of the 5.1 Home Theater System… Maximum Flexibility: Ideal for either Home Theater applications or adding to an existing audio system to create a sub-sat system. Home Theater System: Easily connects to the line level Subwoofer output (variable) or LFE output (fixed) from the Audio/Video Receiver. With its unique down-firing design and front-firing port, the S-10 is an excellent choice for medium size Home Theater systems where space is a premium.
Speaker placement… Role Reversal: There’s a myth that a subwoofer can be placed anywhere Blue Graph represents typical Low Frequency Sound wave in a room and instantly fill the room with complete sound. It’s true that Subwoofers have Omni directional output; however, due to the inherent characteristics of the Low Frequency Sine Wave, there tends to be a number of dead spots. Dead spots are areas where the Subwoofer sounds non existent.
The dead spots, there is a solution… Double your pleasure: There maybe an issue with these dead spots with your home theater setup, especially if you have multiple seating options either side to side, or side to side with front and back. These dead spots may change the listening experience for the different seating positions. The latest solution to this problem involves adding a second subwoofer to fill in the dead spots. Typical 5.1 or 7.
Down (or Floor) Firing Subwoofers… Bass Reflex type (vented enclosure) These subwoofers are the most affordable we offer. They feature either a 10” (S10) or 12 inch (S12) driver. The speaker is mounted at the bottom of the cabinet firing down into the floor. This actually fills the room with the consistent amount of bass. They often integrate better with music coming out of the other speakers. This design works best firing into hard wood floors or hard surface.
Front Firing Subwoofers… Bass Reflex type (vented enclosure) We also feature two Front Firing Subwoofers. With these we can now offer the perfect compliment to our down firing series subwoofers allowing us to offer a solution to almost any application. The Front firing subs tend to cost more money but also provide a lower frequency range (5 Hz to 180 Hz) than the Down Firing series (50 Hz to 250 Hz).
Not all 10” subs are created equal… PS-10 Down Firing Sub Frequency Range… PS-10: 5 Hz to 180 Hz S10: 50 Hz to 250 Hz Notice, over sized surround needed for longer cone excursion which produces lower frequencies which needs more power… 4 times more to produce an Octave lower Example: Frequency Response: 50 Hz, 25 Hz would be an Octave lower so it would take 4 times the power to move the same amount of air at the lower frequency 25 Hz vs. 50 Hz.
Other factors… Frequency Response Another thing to consider in making your choice, Picking the best match for the speakers you plan to use with the respective Subwoofer design. The PS Front Firing Subs have a lower rated Frequency Response 5 Hz to 180 Hz and would match better with an 8” or 6.5” speaker that also features a lower response as well. Conversely the Down Firing Subwoofers have a broader/Higher Frequency Response that matches better with the 5.
Charting the Frequency Response… Speakers to Subwoofer PS-10 PS10 Frequency: Variable 5Hz to 180 Hz 20 Hz plus 40 Hz 80 Hz 160 Hz AP840 Frequency: 30 Hz to 22 kHz 320 Hz 640 Hz 1,280 Hz 2,560 Hz 5,120 Hz 10,240 Hz 20,480 Hz 40,960 Hz 6 6 0 AP840 0 6 minus 6 minus 12 12 18 18 minus 20 S-10 40 80 160 320 640 S10 Frequency: Variable 50 Hz to 250Hz 20 plus 40 80 160 1280 2,560 5,120 10,240 20,480 40,960 AP490 Frequency: 60 Hz to 22 kHz 320 640 1280 2,560 5,120 10,240
Utilizing CAE technology for both our Electronic and Speaker designs… Computer Aided Engineering has greatly reduced both development and overall cost as well as shortened the timeline to market… CAE (Computer Aided Engineering) The competitive market of today, requires a quality product with reliability and durability. As a rapid response in terms of study and implementation of products.
Another Application, the Sub-Sat system… Subwoofer-Satellite system: The S-10 offers different connection options making it easier to interface with an existing audio system either to a pair of speakers connected to your computer or a complete two-channel system in need of more bottom OSD Mini RCA to Standard Stereo RCA pair end. AMP-120, Power Amplifier AP-490, Indoor/Outdoor Speakers S10, Powered Subwoofer Option #1) Signal Level, connect the Sub via a standard Stereo RCA right and left interconnect.
Sub-Sat system: Speaker Level connection, adding a second source that also utilizes the Subwoofer… OSD Mini RCA to Standard Stereo RCA pair AMP-120, Power Amplifier AP-490, Indoor/Outdoor Speakers S10, Powered Subwoofer Option #2) Speaker Level, connecting the Subwoofer from the Speaker Level output (speaker B) of the AMP-120. In this setup you can utilize the subwoofer for both Sources (both input 1 & 2). There also may instances where the Amplifier does not have a RCA signal level output.
LFE, Low Frequency Effects… Note: When connected to LFE output from AVR set crossover control to 150Hz 150 Hz 2 2
Auto-On Sensing… * *The Subwoofer cable is a single Mono connection that can be plugged into either the R or L RCA input of the S-10 OSD Gold Series Subwoofer Cables available 6 to 100 feet
