Sub and Acoustics

[ninja12]

I just installed some GIK Acoustics in my listening room. I notice now that the room is quieter which is to be expected. However, I also notice that I have to turn the volume up on my sub now in order to get it to read 75db. The volume goes from 1 to 99. Before the bass traps, the volume was on 8. Now, with the bass traps, the volume is now on 20. Is that because of the Bass Traps that I have placed in the corner along with the rest of the acoustics panels that I have hung? I only put the bass traps in the front of the room. Am I really hearing the sub now and not the sub and the room together?

 

[TLS Guy]

I just installed some GIK Acoustics in my listening room. I notice now that the room is quieter which is to be expected. However, I also notice that I have to turn the volume up on my sub now in order to get it to read 75db. The volume goes from 1 to 99. Before the bass traps, the volume was on 8. Now, with the bass traps, the volume is now on 20. Is that because of the Bass Traps that I have placed in the corner along with the rest of the acoustics panels that I have hung? I only put the bass traps in the front of the room. Am I really hearing the sub now and not the sub and the room together?

You probably lost your room gain. You will be hearing your room and speaker whatever you do. What was the problem you were trying to solve with the bass traps?

 

[ninja12]

You probably lost your room gain. You will be hearing your room and speaker whatever you do. What was the problem you were trying to solve with the bass traps?

I wanted my bass tighter and more accurate. I tried moving the sub around to different places; but, then the sub was becoming boomy. With the bass traps, the sub does sound tighter and more accurate which is what I was trying to achieve. I was just wondering why I have to turn the volume up on my sub to get it to read 75db on the SPL. The volume is still very low considering that it goes up to 99. Now, the volume is on 20 which is a little less than a quarter of the volume.

 

[TLS Guy]

I wanted my bass tighter and more accurate. I tried moving the sub around to different places; but, then the sub was becoming boomy. With the bass traps, the sub does sound tighter and more accurate which is what I was trying to achieve. I was just wondering why I have to turn the volume up on my sub to get it to read 75db on the SPL. The volume is still very low considering that it goes up to 99. Now, the volume is on 20 which is a little less than a quarter of the volume.

It sounds as if you achieved the result you were looking for, you just have to drive your sub a little harder now. A sub should not be heard. It should be just an extension of the rest, especially the mains.

Many, many speakers, speakers are weak in the wind from 80 to 400 Hz, and progressively weak as you drop below 400 Hz. I think there are a lot of rigs that have the subs way too hot to compensate for this, which it really doesn't. I would put that high on the list of being one of the commonest faults. If you have balanced output below 80 Hz from the sub and your sound seems bass deficient, you can bet the problem is above the sub range which it nearly always is.

 

[bpape]

Most likley, you lost some significant peaks in response which would impact the overall level the SPL meter is seeing. Your room gain is still there - just more even across the spectrum.

Bryan

 

[DD66000]

According to Dr. Floyd Toole, of HI, one can add too many acoustics panels to a room and then lose room gain as the output is absorbed by the panels and converted into heat. Might try removing some of the panels.

To find the best place for the sub is to put the sub at the main seating location, run pink noise throught it, while crawling around the room with a SPL meter. The location with the highest db reading is where the sub wants to go.

 

[bpape]

Agreed. You can overdamp a room. It's very difficult to do in the bass but it can be done. In this case, I personally know what's in his room and it's not even beginning to approach being too much.

As I said, if you knock 2 peaks down 6-8db each, a meter is going to see that as a pretty good reduction in the average level. Say it averages out to 3db. That 3db will require physically double the power from the sub amplifier to restore.

Bryan