The use of subwoofers in the context of surround sound program reproduction

As part of the Eureka 1187 (ADTT) project, an audio working group conducted brief assessments of different subwoofer arrangements on the premises of Bang & Olufsen in Struer, Denmark, during 1996 April. The aim was to determine, for the test environment and the loudspeakers used, what constraints there might be on the location and the number of subwoofers needed to support a 3/2 surround sound system. The conclusion were that for a crossover frequency of 85 Hz, a single subwoofer, located at the boundary of the room, would suffice. This leads to useful economies in the design of the main loudspeakers themselves.