The “Sub Crawl” Is the Free Sound System Hack You’re Not Using

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Why It’s Important How to Do It Surround Sound Systems We Recommend Premium Immersive Set with Arc Ultra Soundbar Surround Sound System with Elevate SE Sound Bar Bravia Theater Quad Home Theater System

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The “sub crawl” is a little-known way you can optimize the placement of your surround sound system’s subwoofer.
I rely on it whenever I get a new system to test or buy for myself.
It can seem odd, but it will get you the best sound out of your expensive new tech.

What? And also, how? And why? All valid responses when an audiophile congratulates you on your new surround sound system and then says you should spend the next hour or so crawling around with your subwoofer on your hands and knees, like a grown child playing with the world’s oddest action figure.

Few people know about this “sub crawl” as it’s called. Outside the rarified circle of audio enthusiasts, you won’t hear those words pass the lips of a regular cinema junkie or the average salesperson on the sales floor. Even subwoofers’ instruction and setup manuals rarely include it. But this little trick is a vital part of squeezing out the best possible sound from your subwoofer. I’ve been reviewing home audio equipment for over five years. When I set up a subwoofer, whether I’m testing it for work and taking ownership of my own new toy, the first thing I do is a sub crawl.

Why It’s Important

Most of us who build out a sound system with a subwoofer tuck it wherever it’s out of the way. These things are big, and many folks don’t even want it visible, so they hide it behind a couch or chair. Yet it pays to get the placement right, because the subwoofer is a critical part of a sound system. Its job is to handle the lowest frequencies, reaching into the depths of booming bass that other speakers can’t reach. Without a subwoofer, your system is doomed to sound thin and anemic.

There are so many variables as to how a room’s dimensions, the building’s construction, furniture placement, and the materials of that furniture affect the way speakers and subwoofers sound that there’s no way to offer a one-size-fits-all, “put it here” maxim for absolute best subwoofer sound quality.

That’s where the sub crawl comes in. You can find that perfect spot for yourself if you spend some time on your hands and knees.

How to Do It

Start out by placing your subwoofer close to where you normally listen to music or your TV. If that’s a couch or chair, then plop it down right there. Or, if you’re worried about the sub damaging the fabric, put it on a table pulled up near the seat cushion and at the same height. Just get it close to where your own head will be when you’ll be listening.

Now queue up a song or movie scene with lots of deep, richly rumbling bass. When I most recently performed a sub crawl with the new Sonos Sub 4 subwoofer, I used Les McCann’s bass-heavy “Burnin’ Coal,” and then I queued up that classic scene in Jurassic Park where our protagonists first hear the heavy footsteps of the approaching T. rex. So that you don’t have to keep constantly stopping your crawl to rewind, put your song on loop or watch your chosen movie scene on YouTube where you can also set the scene to repeat for as long as you need.

Now, with the sub in place and your chosen test song or scene playing, get down with your head about subwoofer level—that is, a foot or so above the ground—and move around the room. Listen to how the subwoofer sounds different at various locations. In some places it’ll sound muddier, as if the frequencies are melting together, and in other places it’ll sound rich and deep but with good clarity. You don’t have to rearrange a whole room to do this. I wouldn’t move a perfectly placed couch or switch a TV to an awkward corner just to sub crawl. Work around your room’s furniture if you’re not open to moving it permanently for the sake of a subwoofer.

After enough testing, you should be able to hear a spot (or two) where the subwoofer sounds best, with the frequencies most balanced and clear. That’s where you should plant your sub. Obviously, you can’t put the sub in the middle of the floor or you’d be tripping over it like a Cirque du Soleil performer every 20 minutes, so if you find the best sound in the middle of the room, pick the second-best-sounding spot. Or the third-best. Whichever spot sounds best that’s out of the way.

Most likely, you’ll find that the best sound is in a corner. That’s because they bounce sound off more nearby surfaces: the floor and two walls versus the floor and one wall. But not always, as some rooms’ corners can make sub’s sound boomy and overwhelmingly bass heavy. If that’s the case and you find the sound too boomy, muddy, and indistinct, then check out how it sounds along the walls between corners. It’s perfectly fine to put your sub not in a corner if that’s where the best sound is. Some rooms are like that. Just make sure to place the sub about a foot away from the wall and not right up against it.

Hopefully, by now you aren’t sick of your test song or scene after hearing it repeat over and over. And you just got yourself a free sound upgrade. Celebrate with something loud and enjoyable—and try not to anger the neighbors (much).