Best Base tracks for Sub calibration

[memanuel70]

What are some good bass tracks in movies and music I can use when do my subwoofer placement crawl test?

 

[shadyJ]

What are some good bass tracks in movies and music I can use when do my subwoofer placement crawl test?

Don't use movies or music to figure our placement for a sub (unless you only intend to ever listen to one recording on your setup). The bass in normal content mostly only hovers around particular frequencies, and if you try to use a handful of musical recordings or movie scenes to tune your subwoofer placement, you are only going to 'tune' it to that set of content.

Use something like a low frequency sweep that lets you know what the sub sounds like at individual frequencies. This tone generator is a great tool to see how loud your sub gets at individual frequencies; you will want to get the best balance of all bass tones from 20 Hz to 80 Hz or higher. For a single sound that plays all frequencies simultaneously, try a pink noise or white noise with the speakers turned off, like this thing. That noise will give you a very nice spectral balance in bass, so that you can hear its character change as you walk around the room and experience the room modes. If you use that tone, try to look for a subwoofer placement that gets the best balance of all noise without particular emphasis on deep or upper bass frequencies. Here is a tone that is like a pink noise that has been low-passed already so you don't have to mute your speakers.

 

[TLS Guy]

Shady has given you good advice. However tones are second best because of continuous duration. Pulses are better. You really do need some sort of measurement for calibration.

However music can be useful, especially if you have a set of speakers that will play into the 40 Hz range.

If you are using music, use music without a lot of, or any for that matter very low frequency content.

I like to use baroque music well recorded that has a continuo bass line. If the sub is properly adjusted then whether you play the music full range or with the sub it should sound the same.
If the bass is louder and the bass strings are starting to sound the least elephantine, then the sub is TOO LOUD.

Generally subs are turned up way too loud the way most often used and are a menace to realistic reproduction. Ideally a sub should be seamless and not heard.

The trouble is people fall victim to the "I paid good money for this sub and I jolly well want to hear it". When they jolly well should not be hearing it.

The real problem is that getting deep bass is the easiest part. Getting good quality bass is the hard part.

 

[memanuel70]

I appreciate the advice but no ever experience at what I should hear can you explained a little better what kind of sound I'm i listening for when playing these sounds thru sub woofer - how should it sound? Thanks

 

[TLS Guy]

I appreciate the advice but no ever experience at what I should hear can you explained a little better what kind of sound I'm i listening for when playing these sounds thru sub woofer - how should it sound? Thanks

Well there is no way to tell you that, which is why measuring instruments really help here. More importantly how a sub is used and the difference it makes is highly dependent on the low frequency extension of the speakers it is supporting. Yet you have told us nothing about your system.