MaximumPC 2004 04

In the Lab A behind-the-scenes look at Maximum PC testing

Klipsch Delivers Two

Towers of Power to the Lab

...and we reach a new low in speaker testing

 MAXIMUMPC APRIL 2004

H

idden from prying eyes and pro-

tected by keycode access and a mis-

sile defense system, the Maximum

PC test lab is the most secretive of places.

Only a handful of employees receive

access to our vault-like den of hardware

depravity it’s tucked away in a corner of

the building not freQuented by our par-

ent company’s 150-plus employees. Sure,

once in awhile an errant employee steals

a glance when the door swings open, but

in general no one other than us is aware

of the lab’s goings-on.

This month, however, everyone within

a 100-foot radius was aware of the fact

that we were testing subwoofers. In our

defense, we’ll admit that when +lipsch

first offered to send not one but 12 of its

SWS subwoofers for testing, we should

have resisted. We should have said,

hWe have enough bass, thank you very

much.v But we didn’t. We’re weak, obvi-

ously, and easily swayed by over-the-top

PC power. Hey, who isn’t

We started by hooking up three of the

subs to a set of +lipsch ProMedia Ultra

5.1 speaker set by daisy-chaining them

together. One nice feature of the SWS

system is that a single volume wheel

controls the output of the

entire array, so it’s easy to dial

up the appropriate amount

of bass.

hAre these subwoofers multi-

plyingv asked Editor-in-Chief

George *ones upon finding

another stack of three subs

later in the week for a total

of six  . ,ittle did he know, the

bug had just begun to take

hold. One week later six sub-

woofers had become a massive

12-sub array that shook the

labˆand everything around

itˆlike a 9.0 earthQuake. The

level of bass felt so unbeliev-

ably powerful it was comical.

For example, when standing

near the subwoofers during

testing our pant legs actually flapped

around like flags in the wind, not

because the speakers’ ports were facing

them they are located on the speakers’

rear     but because of the sheer strength of

the sound waves!

Unfortunately, right as we went to

press with our review of the SWS,

+lipsch informed us of its decision to

clear out its remaining stock of subs at

the bargain basement price of $99 and

cease selling the productˆfor now, at

least. Because we’re not into recom-

mending products you can’t buy, this

means we had to shelve our review the

verdict: a 9 rating and a +ick Ass award    .

This also means we have the last 12 SWS

subwoofers in captivity. Send your bids

to [email protected].

Conventional wisdom says it doesn’t

matter where you place a system’s

subwoofer because the deep tones it

produces are nondirectional. While this

is generally true, we’ve discovered it’s

still possible to get better sound from

your subwoofer by experimenting with

different locations. Here’s how you can

find the sweet spot for your bass.

Unplug every speaker in your system

except the subwoofer, and place it in

the exact spot where you’ll be sitting

when you listen to your speakers (if

you can). Play a bass-heavy soundtrack

and crawl around the room, listening

for where the bass sounds best. You’re

probably asking, “You really want me

to crawl around the room?” Yes, we

really do. It’s a lot easier for you to

move around the room than it is to

move the sub. You are looking for the

spot where the subwoofer sounds the

best to your ears. Once you’ve located

the spot, place the subwoofer there! To

save time, start in the far corner of the

wall where your PC (or home theater)

is located, and walk along the walls

so that you hear how the bass sounds

from both sides.

The sensation of 12 100-watt subwoofers pounding away on either

side of you is pure torture, which is why we had our new intern test it

for us. Sadly, the massive bass blast drove poor John insane.

Lessons from the Lab: Optimize your subwoofer placement