Bass traps before a subwoofer

When the bass is boomy, the instinct is to buy something: a new amplifier, a subwoofer, another box. My instinct now is to put something in the corners. Bass trapping comes before any subwoofer integration someone will recommend to you.

It is step three in the order I recommend. First, speaker positions, which cost nothing. Second, no more than $500 at first on first-reflection absorption and diffusion, piece by piece. Third, bass trapping in the corners on a similar budget.

Bass is extremely difficult and complicated. Standing waves in my old room created massive bass peaks and nulls, and no amount of gear was going to fix that. The cure was to take energy out of the corners, not to add another source of it.

Experiment with a couple of traps, and I strongly suspect your low end will be cleaned up, tighter, and far superior to any subwoofer integration you will be offered. That is pretty much the opposite of what you will hear in a shop. I understand why: a corner trap does not come with a remote.

The cure for bad bass is usually less of it in the wrong places. Buy the trap before the box.