Equalizing/adjusting a semi-DIY subwoofer

[Quenepas]

Hello!

I have some question in regards of subwoofer equalization. The Sub I have is a 12inch Sony I rescued from termites . Termites ate the entire cabinet in a matter of days so I had to remove the board and speakers to reinstall in a car "dog house" cabinet. After that I really never got to set, let alone adjust, the settings on the SW being the main reason that I dunno how to properly do it.

I have searched online but I have yet to find a tutorial easy to understand.

I want to understand what Phase (normal or reverse) and Cut Off Freq (a knob from 50Hz to 170Hz) is and do in a way a grandmother could understand. My room is a 10ft x 20ft studio apartment if that helps in any way. Any help is appreciated. Thanks a bunch!

[JoeDJ]

In very simple terms......

"Phase" refers to when all speakers are vibrating in unison... all speakers are going out and in together and no speaker is not vibrating "out" when another is vibraing "in"
This is acomplished by making sure that the + wire is conected the to + terminal on all speakers. This is called "in phase"
However, with a sub, sometimes a sys will sound better when the sub is "out of phase" (depending on the sub's placement in the room) so, a phase reversal swithch is included on the sub. Experimentation is in order to determine which is best.... which setting gives the most pleasing bass.
So, there is no right or wrong way to set it.

The frequency adjustment knob is simply adjusted to where you like the sound. The cutoff frequency is where the sub takes over for the main speakers and vice versa and/or the highest level of freqs the sub reoproduces..... depending of the way the sub is connected to the sys. Again, you simply adjust it to where you like the sound....... to where the bass sounds balanced.

Of course, a sub also has a volume control that also has to be adjusted.