Buzzing noise from THTLP ** SOLVED **
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2026 8:46 pm
I’ve had a pair of THTLP subwoofers for a couple of years. They’re wonderful.
When I first set them up, I had used REW to choose the best positions for them in order to maximize SPL and then used REW and MSO (Multi-Sub Optimizer) to dial them in. They sounded OK but I had enormous seat-to-seat variation in my listening positions.
Recently I went through that set-up process again, but this time I strove to make the seat-to-seat variation as small as possible. This led to new placement for the subs (from the left-front and right-rear diagonal corners to the two corners at the front of the room). I re-ran the EQ using REW and MSO. The result was MUCH improved.
However, shortly after relocating the THTLPs, I started to notice a buzzing sound. It took me a while, but I was able to locate it as coming from the right-front subwoofer. I moved things out of the way so that I could get to the sub. I used hot glue to make sure that loose wires weren’t moving about and took off the base so that I could tighten the screws holding the driver in place. Convinced I had done all that could be done, I put my system back together so that I could test to see if the buzzing was gone.
It wasn’t.
After some more investigation — and no small amount of head scratching — I found the cause of the buzzing. It turned out that the buzzing wasn’t coming from the THTLP — it was coming from the HVAC (air conditioning) duct in the floor near the subwoofer. At low frequencies the duct was resonating and making a buzzing noise. I ended up eliminating the problem (for now) by stuffing a towel in the duct, thereby damping it.
Now that I’ve found and fixed the source of the annoying buzzing, I can’t help but find the whole exercise to have been funny. I hope it amuses you too.
When I first set them up, I had used REW to choose the best positions for them in order to maximize SPL and then used REW and MSO (Multi-Sub Optimizer) to dial them in. They sounded OK but I had enormous seat-to-seat variation in my listening positions.
Recently I went through that set-up process again, but this time I strove to make the seat-to-seat variation as small as possible. This led to new placement for the subs (from the left-front and right-rear diagonal corners to the two corners at the front of the room). I re-ran the EQ using REW and MSO. The result was MUCH improved.
However, shortly after relocating the THTLPs, I started to notice a buzzing sound. It took me a while, but I was able to locate it as coming from the right-front subwoofer. I moved things out of the way so that I could get to the sub. I used hot glue to make sure that loose wires weren’t moving about and took off the base so that I could tighten the screws holding the driver in place. Convinced I had done all that could be done, I put my system back together so that I could test to see if the buzzing was gone.
It wasn’t.
After some more investigation — and no small amount of head scratching — I found the cause of the buzzing. It turned out that the buzzing wasn’t coming from the THTLP — it was coming from the HVAC (air conditioning) duct in the floor near the subwoofer. At low frequencies the duct was resonating and making a buzzing noise. I ended up eliminating the problem (for now) by stuffing a towel in the duct, thereby damping it.
Now that I’ve found and fixed the source of the annoying buzzing, I can’t help but find the whole exercise to have been funny. I hope it amuses you too.