How to Set Up Your Subwoofer

How to Set Up Your Subwoofer

Adding a subwoofer to your setup brings a whole new dimension to your sound. Or, more accurately, a new sense—the sense of touch. While loudspeakers and studio monitors (including Mackie’s) are good for making the bass heard, they’re not necessarily meant to make the bass felt. When you need bass you can feel, a subwoofer is the only option. That’s why Mackie has dedicated studio subwoofers for our CR and MR Series, live subwoofers for Thump, DRM, DLM, SRT Series, and even a portable battery-powered subwoofer to go with ShowBox and Thump GO. You know those huge stacks of line array speakers in arenas? Even those monsters still need subwoofers to rattle the seats. They're essential for many applications. But subwoofers can be a little complicated to set up, so we're here to help.

If you’ve purchased your first subwoofer, congratulations! You’re going to love your new bottom end. We’re going to get you all hooked up, positioned and locked in. If you’re just considering buying a subwoofer, read on for a little more info about how they work, and how they integrate into your recording setup or live rig.

Hooking Up Your Subwoofer

Connecting your subwoofer is a little more complicated than a normal speaker. That’s because subwoofers need to integrate with your system in a specific way: subwoofers need to handle only the bass or “low end” frequencies of the sound source, while the other speakers handle the treble or “high end” frequencies. To make this possible, you’ll need to connect your subwoofer to both the sound source and the other speakers.
 

Connecting to Your Source(s)

Mackie subwoofers have a simple, elegant solution: the audio signal goes from the source to the subwoofer. Then, the subwoofer sends just the “high end” of the audio to the other speakers. Your sound source could be a DJ controller, mixer, audio interface, record player, or just about anything else that outputs a line signal. Mackie subwoofers all have stereo inputs, but they can also be used in mono. Some subwoofers even have Bluetooth® connectivity for your phone or tablet, like CR8SBT and ThumpSub GO, which is even more convenient. Stream from Spotify through a subwoofer and you'll never go back.

Give your speakers Bluetooth®: There’s a “hack” that’s possible when you use a subwoofer with Bluetooth®, like CR8SBT or ThumpSub GO. You can connect to the sub wirelessly, and the sub will pass the signal to the speakers with cables. This functionally allows you to stream from your phone or tablet to speakers that don’t have any wireless connectivity.
 

Connecting to Your Speakers

Speaking of speakers, Mackie subwoofers have outputs for sending just the “high end” to your speakers. The speakers can be studio monitors or loudspeakers, or even a soundbar, as long as they’re compatible with your subwoofer. For instance, our super-sleek ThumpSub GO portable subwoofer is compatible with our other portable loudspeakers like ShowBox and Thump GO. Our top-of-the-line DRM18S subwoofer is designed to pair with huge stacks of professional line arrays. Our studio subwoofers like MRS10 are made for use with studio monitors.

Overall, there’s a pretty simple rule: for a bigger speaker you’ll want a bigger subwoofer, and with a smaller speaker you’ll want a smaller one.

Crossover: Most subwoofers will have a control called “crossover.” Crossover is probably the most important control on the subwoofer. As we explained, subwoofers amplify the low end of the signal, while sending the high end to the speakers. In order to do this, the subwoofer has to split the signal in two, between bass and treble. The frequency where this split takes place is called the “crossover”—the boundary between “low end” and “high end.” Most subwoofers let you adjust this crossover point, whether it’s with a variable knob, presets or both. Once you have your speakers connected, adjust the crossover and see what sounds best.

Positioning Your Subwoofer

Good news: subwoofers are actually easier to position than your speakers. Studio monitors and loudspeakers all have a “sweet spot” where they sound good. For studio monitors, that spot is usually narrower, since the speakers are designed for a listener who is stationary. Live speakers have a wider sweet spot, and advanced loudspeakers like SRM V-Class even use DSP to optimize the sound over a wider zone. Subwoofers, however, have much less of a “sweet spot” then even loudspeakers, and therefore you don’t have to point them perfectly at a specific place.

Still, when placing your subwoofer, consider a few basic rules:

  • Keep your sub close (ish) to your speakers: While your subwoofer doesn’t have to be in between your speakers or right next to them, you’ll still want to make sure it’s not so far that it’s not covering the same area.
  • Not against the wall: Walls and corners will reflect the bass frequencies even more, causing unbalanced sound. Keep at least a bit of distance, even just a few feet.
  • You can “crawl” if you want to: It’s probably not necessary, but there’s a famous technique for figuring out the “perfect” place for your subwoofer. Place the subwoofer in the spot where the listener will be (dance floor, studio engineer chair, etc.) and crawl around the room, listening. Wherever the bass sounds best, that’s where the sub should go. It’s the equivalent of moving the sub around the room to listen, with much less lifting. Just maybe do it when nobody is around, though, if you’re easily embarrassed.

Adjust the Sound With Phase Inversion and Delay

So, you’ve gotten connected, set the crossover, placed your subwoofer in the right spot and pressed “play.” Hopefully, it sounds fantastic right off the bat, with the powerful low end and shimmering high end that only a sub + speaker combo can provide. But unfortunately, you might hear a very unpleasant sound instead. It might sound like parts of your signal have been sucked out. Cranking it up might only make it worse. Disaster, right? Is it broken? Not at all. This problem is called “phase cancellation.” There’s a feature on your sub to address it.

Phase, Polarity and Delay: Without getting too into the weeds, “phase cancellation” happens when the subwoofer and speaker are positioned in a way that their sound waves cancel each other out. It’s less likely to happen when the subwoofer and speaker are placed right next to each other, but that’s not always possible. The simplest solution is a “phase” or “polarity” button like in Thump115S and Thump118S. Just push the button, and the problem should disappear. Our most professional subs like DRM18S have a more complex solution called “alignment delay” that lets you adjust the phase more precisely, for high-stakes applications where you need nothing less than perfection.


Conserve Space With Mounting Options

The biggest downside of subwoofers is that they are often large. The exception is our ThumpSub GO subwoofer, which uses a flattened design with two 8” woofers, making it possible to slide into spaces other subs don’t fit. But when you’re using a more typical 18-inch subwoofer like the SR18S subwoofer, it’s going to be a bit big, and that’s unavoidable. You can’t fit an 18-inch woofer in a space smaller than 18 inches, now can you?

For Mackie subwoofers, there are some useful mounting accessories that make it much easier to save space in the venue or studio. They also keep your setup clean and professional. For most Mackie subwoofers, there’s a speaker pole designed to screw into the top of the sub cabinet. Mackie loudspeakers are designed to go on top of the pole, creating a streamlined all-in-one setup. For those towering line arrays with a subwoofer at the bottom, pair the DRM12A speakers with the DRM18S subwoofer and the dedicated flyware kit.


Get a Bigger Bottom End With Mackie

Sorry, we’re not putting out any workout videos. But if you want to add bass that shakes the floorboards of the dance floor or your studio, there's a Mackie subwoofer that meets your needs perfectly. Complete your setup and check back at our blog for more audio tips.

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