A subwoofer can go behind the TV and it will still sound good as long as there is space around the TV so that the sound waves can escape into the room and reach you.
Bass and low frequencies that subwoofers produce are Omnidirectional and radiate from the sub in all directions.
When these frequencies are transmitted from the speaker into the air, they spread outward into the atmosphere as pressure ripples that we perceive as sound.
Whatever location you choose for your subwoofer, you won’t be able to tell where the bass is coming from because it is reflected off of the floor, walls, and ceiling first.
Considering this, the fact that the subwoofer is placed behind the TV shouldn’t detract from your listening experience – as long as the sound can reach you.
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Can I Put A Subwoofer Behind Any Type Of TV?
If your TV is a modern LCD or plasma TV, it shouldn’t be a problem to put the sub behind it but if you’re using an older type of CRT TV set, putting the subwoofer too close to it could cause colors to be distorted when displayed on the screen.
Subs create bass by using magnetic fields and large magnets which can have an adverse effect on CRT TVs.
It can cause discoloration on a screen that’s supposed to be white and can sometimes cause the screen’s corners to become purple, red, or green.
However, modern flat-screen TVs are not as susceptible to this and modern subs should come magnetically shielded so – nowadays – placing a subwoofer behind a TV is usually not a problem.
How Does A Subwoofer Sound When Put Behind A TV?
A subwoofer can sound just as good from behind a TV as it would sit at any other spot around your room.
Deep-bass frequencies that come from subs are transmitted in all directions and this makes it difficult to pinpoint where the sound is originating from.
As long as the sound is able to bounce around the room and reach your ears a sub can go anywhere.
So, from this respect, no sound quality should be lost by placing a TV in Infront of a subwoofer, as long as there is space around it for the sound to escape into the room.
But something that can affect how your sub sounds is where exactly it is placed behind the TV.
For example, a sub placed in a corner will sound different from one placed along a flat wall.
Where To Place A Subwoofer Behind Your TV
Whether your TV is in a corner or along a wall, you can place your sub behind it and test how it sounds.
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Placing Your Subwoofer In A Corner
The corner behind a TV often works out to be a really good place for a subwoofer.
When you put it in a corner, the corner acts like a box that amplifies the sound.
This can be a good or a bad thing depending on how powerful your subwoofer is.
If your subwoofer is a little underpowered then putting it in a corner can amplify its sound and help it to better fill the room.
But if the sub you’re using is powerful, like the MartinLogan Dynamo, putting it in the corner could amplify the sound in ways you don’t want and make it sound boomy and rumbly.
Placing Your Subwoofer Along A Flat Wall
Placing your sub along a flat wall behind your TV is also fine as long as it’s not too close to the wall.
If the speaker has a port to allow air to flow, you should keep it at least twice the length of the port away from the wall to allow airflow.
So if the port is 4 inches long, you should place the sub at least 8 inches back from the wall.
The only way to know for sure how a sub is going to sound from a certain position is to try it out.
Is behind the Tv the ONLY place for it?
Depending on your room acoustics and the quality of your sub, you could end up getting peaks and nulls in the frequencies.
Peaks are exaggerated bass notes and nulls are absent ones.
Both issues are caused by sound reflecting off walls and other objects.
When trying to find the best place, it is usually advised to do what is called a subwoofer crawl.
This is where you place the sub at the position where you will be sitting to watch TV (as close to where your ears would be as possible).
You may have to use a table to sit the subwoofer directly behind the chair where you sit, at about ear level.
Connect the sub and loop a song you like that has a repeating bass line.
Then you would crawl around on the floor to different positions where you might like the speaker to be placed.
When you crawl to a location where the base sounds good you can mark it with some tape as a possible place for the speaker to go.
Get creative, a subwoofer can go anywhere around your room and has to potential to sound great from a range of places.
Just be careful about placing it on a shelf because all the vibration can eventually cause it to fall off.
Do a subwoofer crawl and see what location sounds good.
But if behind the TV is really the only option, all you can do is place the speaker there and, if possible, move your chair around to see if you can gain an improvement in the sound.
