Advice please: recommend a subwoofer for migraine sufferer?

[Gemseeker]

Hi,
I'm a home theater newbie looking to upgrade from my Samsung LCD TV's standard speakers to a full 5.0 or 5.1, so I have been doing a lot of research and a limited amount of listening at local stores. I have always avoided the idea of a home theater because I get migraines at the drop of a hat-or I used to, until I had a hysterectomy in 2008. (It's well-known that women's monthly hormone fluctuations trigger a lot of migraines.)

Now relatively stable, hormonally speaking, I got a new car in 2011 and discovered, to my pleased surprise, that bass frequencies didn't automatically give me a headache, as I had assumed. In fact, listening to cello and harp and some of the deeper wind instruments had a sublimely glorious fullness to them that made me want a home theater system in my home as well.

So here I am, trying to learn as much as I can about speakers systems before taking the plunge. I plan to get bookshelves, not floor towers. I'm on the fence about getting a subwoofer, because even without getting a full-blown migraine, certain frequencies (about 80-100Hz, mid-bass) will still give me an irritated-skin feeling on the back of my neck that is so unpleasant it ruins movie-watching/music-listening.

I also feel as if someone is hitting me on the back of the neck. Eventually, at higher volumes, I do develop headaches. (The man at the local home theater store said I have a sensitivity not to bass, but to percussion, such as drums.) I can listen to cellos or say, a spaceship zooming front to back no problem, but even medium-strength drumming is an immediate irritant. I was even bothered by the bass from the main shopping area outside the Best Buy Magnolia room with the doors closed...

I realize home-trials are the only sure way to know what will and won't bother me, but I don't want to waste a lot of money on return shipping: speakers are heavy!

My room is a 12x14, in an apartment complex so I have the neighbors to think about as well. One nice thing is that my room is already essentially acoustically treated, because it has wall-to-wall carpet, heavy drapes and is lined with bookcases on every foot of wall that isn't a door or window. Plus a twin bed and cloth-covered recliner. Very little reverb/echoes at all.

I plan to use this system 90% for home theater, so I bought a Denon 1713 receiver. I have not been able to try it out, with no speakers (!), but so far I liked the Energy CB 20s and Definitive Technology Studio 55s from Best Buy. I preferred the warmer Energys, but am worried that the higher notes will get lost in my room's deadness. Also, there was just enough punch in the Energys (rated down to 60Hz) to make movie sound effects like explosions noticable but not quite enough to cause me pain (I happened to have a headache the day I went listening). The Energys are rated down to 60Hz.

The DefTech 55s had definite base, but no punch (which was odd, since they were rated for down to 32Hz. The specs say they are not 'bass reflex', so they don't have a port for punchy bass. Yet the smaller Studio 45 bookshelves do and are also rated to 32Hz...) Being brighter, I was thinking I should go for them and use a sub with a delicate touch to fill in the bass.

What are your thoughts/tips? I'd especially appreciate advice from those of you who get migraines, or know someone who does, and what they do about it. Thanks~

 

[shadyJ]

I think the kind of bass you are looking for would depend on where the sub is placed as much as what sub you get. I would be looking at the Hsu VTF series, as the character of their bass can be shaped by user preferences to an extant. I would experiment with different placements and also different settings both on the sub and in the receiver's sub management. Also, on your Denon receiver you might want to experiment with the "night" mode, this compresses the dynamic range so the sound stays within a certain range of loudness, this can tame some of the peaks in percussive soundtracks.

 

[agarwalro]

I realize home-trials are the only sure way to know what will and won't bother me, but I don't want to waste a lot of money on return shipping: speakers are heavy!

Aperion Audio has free return shipping in the first 30 days.

 

[KEW]

Hi,
I'm a home theater newbie looking to upgrade from my Samsung LCD TV's standard speakers to a full 5.0 or 5.1, so I have been doing a lot of research and a limited amount of listening at local stores. I have always avoided the idea of a home theater because I get migraines at the drop of a hat-or I used to, until I had a hysterectomy in 2008. (It's well-known that women's monthly hormone fluctuations trigger a lot of migraines.)

Now relatively stable, hormonally speaking, I got a new car in 2011 and discovered, to my pleased surprise, that bass frequencies didn't automatically give me a headache, as I had assumed. In fact, listening to cello and harp and some of the deeper wind instruments had a sublimely glorious fullness to them that made me want a home theater system in my home as well.

So here I am, trying to learn as much as I can about speakers systems before taking the plunge. I plan to get bookshelves, not floor towers. I'm on the fence about getting a subwoofer, because even without getting a full-blown migraine, certain frequencies (about 80-100Hz, mid-bass) will still give me an irritated-skin feeling on the back of my neck that is so unpleasant it ruins movie-watching/music-listening.

I also feel as if someone is hitting me on the back of the neck. Eventually, at higher volumes, I do develop headaches. (The man at the local home theater store said I have a sensitivity not to bass, but to percussion, such as drums.) I can listen to cellos or say, a spaceship zooming front to back no problem, but even medium-strength drumming is an immediate irritant. I was even bothered by the bass from the main shopping area outside the Best Buy Magnolia room with the doors closed...

I realize home-trials are the only sure way to know what will and won't bother me, but I don't want to waste a lot of money on return shipping: speakers are heavy!

My room is a 12x14, in an apartment complex so I have the neighbors to think about as well. One nice thing is that my room is already essentially acoustically treated, because it has wall-to-wall carpet, heavy drapes and is lined with bookcases on every foot of wall that isn't a door or window. Plus a twin bed and cloth-covered recliner. Very little reverb/echoes at all.

I plan to use this system 90% for home theater, so I bought a Denon 1713 receiver. I have not been able to try it out, with no speakers (!), but so far I liked the Energy CB 20s and Definitive Technology Studio 55s from Best Buy. I preferred the warmer Energys, but am worried that the higher notes will get lost in my room's deadness. Also, there was just enough punch in the Energys (rated down to 60Hz) to make movie sound effects like explosions noticable but not quite enough to cause me pain (I happened to have a headache the day I went listening). The Energys are rated down to 60Hz.

The DefTech 55s had definite base, but no punch (which was odd, since they were rated for down to 32Hz. The specs say they are not 'bass reflex', so they don't have a port for punchy bass. Yet the smaller Studio 45 bookshelves do and are also rated to 32Hz...) Being brighter, I was thinking I should go for them and use a sub with a delicate touch to fill in the bass.

What are your thoughts/tips? I'd especially appreciate advice from those of you who get migraines, or know someone who does, and what they do about it. Thanks~

So, certain frequencies - 80 to 100Hz bother you and it sounds like any low bass with sudden attacks is also problematic. Does that sound right.
How did you determine the frequency range? Did you measure or did someone guesstimate?

First, you should take your time and make sure you understand your needs.

If they are really as you outline, it sounds like you need to be selective of the music you listen to and/or apply some abnormal EQ to your system to suppress the problematic frequencies.

On the topic of headaches, you should at least try a neuro-muscular massage therapist and have them work on your Occipital area. It might not do you any good, but it is worth trying (figure about $40 for 30 minutes). The reason I suggest this is the effect of sudden attacks in music sounds like it could be related to stress and you should experience a significant difference from a massage. My thought is that you have stress which predispositions you for the migraines. Understand I am no doctor. This is a shot in the dark, but for ~$40 a worthwhile investigation. If this does pan out, some combination of meditation, yoga, and massage therapy is a good course (just make sure teh Yoga is gentle - avoid places that teach Yoga and Pilates)

I no of no decent way to remove sudden attacks or impacts from music. You can EQ out the 80-100Hz frequencies if you establish that is what you really need.
I don't believe you will be successful fitting the restrictions you describe by selecting speakers without some other controls on the sounds.

Good luck and keep us posted!

PS - I am bothered by the bass anytime I am in Best Buy.

 

[ImcLoud]

Weird...

You can get which ever sub you want, just use fmods to phase out the frequencies that irritate you...

Amazon.com: FMOD Crossover Pair 70 Hz Low Pass: Car Electronics

just figure out what you need....