Subwoofer in blackbox theatre

[MikeG]

I work at a school with a built in sound system for which I have been slowing learning the ins and outs. Our black box theatre has a subwoofer in the middle of the ceiling (about 25ft high).
I am just wandering if this is a typical placement.

 

[museav]

I work at a school with a built in sound system for which I have been slowing learning the ins and outs. Our black box theatre has a subwoofer in the middle of the ceiling (about 25ft high).
I am just wandering if this is a typical placement.

Typical, no, but it may make sense for a space that has to be very flexible in regards to the seating and performance space locations and arrangement. And if the subwoofer is mounted tight against the ceiling the ceiling may also provide boundary loading using the one boundary, the ceiling, that would not be shared by any listeners. However, there may be some challenges getting a nice crossover between the subs and mains with the physical separation that is likely to exist between the sub and the mains.

 

[ejsandstrom]

I cant speak to a theater, but flying subs is done often in Churches. Mostly the more non traditional, line array type. Its about coverage, you lose some of the perceived bass. You typically need to add more subs to acheive the same effect, but you dont kill the little old lady in the front row when you drop Run DMC's "Down with the king".

 

[TimmyP1955]

I'd worry about whether it came from the factory with fly points and whether it's mounted correctly.

Being that far from the main speakers, there will be timing issues galore. The lows will arrive at some seats before the rest of the spectrum, and at some seats after. And at some it will be just right.