How low in Hz for sub?

M

Moonlight

Audioholic Intern
Hi
I have a subby that has a 12 in driver which goes down to 40Hz
Just wondering what I am missing out on by not having one that goes down to say 20Hz?
Used for TV movies, CD's and DVD's soon, no Blueray.
How low can our ears hear and below that it it just a 'feel' thing and how much does that add to the experience?
If I want to connect 2 subs I hear that I can use a Y plug connected to the pre-out sub on my receiver but the subs need to be the same ohm resistance.
Is this correct?

Cheers
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Hi
I have a subby that has a 12 in driver which goes down to 40Hz
Just wondering what I am missing out on by not having one that goes down to say 20Hz?
Used for TV movies, CD's and DVD's soon, no Blueray.
How low can our ears hear and below that it it just a 'feel' thing and how much does that add to the experience?
If I want to connect 2 subs I hear that I can use a Y plug connected to the pre-out sub on my receiver but the subs need to be the same ohm resistance.
Is this correct?

Cheers
I wouldn't worry about it. Too many folks chase the low stuff while sacrificing the higher bass. Of course your missing stuff, but you would need a big time sub to get it. Those are best done as DIY projects
 
adwilk

adwilk

Audioholic Ninja
Hi
I have a subby that has a 12 in driver which goes down to 40Hz
Just wondering what I am missing out on by not having one that goes down to say 20Hz?
Used for TV movies, CD's and DVD's soon, no Blueray.
How low can our ears hear and below that it it just a 'feel' thing and how much does that add to the experience?
If I want to connect 2 subs I hear that I can use a Y plug connected to the pre-out sub on my receiver but the subs need to be the same ohm resistance.
Is this correct?

Cheers
Isiberian is correct... you're probably missing out on some, and I'd also imagine that your "in room" response is likely lower than the published specs.

To your second question... you can Y the signal. Impedance on the subs doesnt matter as its the actual amplifier that will see the resistance, not the receiver. That said, its always best to use matching subs for best performance. Adding a matching sub will not help extension but will add a little spl.

You could get a nice sub to take care of lows, keep your existing sub for mid bass performance but you would need an external crossover device to seamlessly integrate everything.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Isiberian is correct... you're probably missing out on some, and I'd also imagine that your "in room" response is likely lower than the published specs.

To your second question... you can Y the signal. Impedance on the subs doesnt matter as its the actual amplifier that will see the resistance, not the receiver. That said, its always best to use matching subs for best performance. Adding a matching sub will not help extension but will add a little spl.

You could get a nice sub to take care of lows, keep your existing sub for mid bass performance but you would need an external crossover device to seamlessly integrate everything.
Yes the sub should be the same. model. Place them at the LR main.
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Hi
I have a subby that has a 12 in driver which goes down to 40Hz
Just wondering what I am missing out on by not having one that goes down to say 20Hz?
Used for TV movies, CD's and DVD's soon, no Blueray.
How low can our ears hear and below that it it just a 'feel' thing and how much does that add to the experience?
If I want to connect 2 subs I hear that I can use a Y plug connected to the pre-out sub on my receiver but the subs need to be the same ohm resistance.
Is this correct?

Cheers
Human hearing is generally regarded as 20 to 20,000 Hz, though the high end in particular tends to vary according to age and damage to hearing from loud noises (which is often confused with age, as most damage to hearing from loud noises does not show up immediately). However, at the low end, you can feel frequencies below 20 Hz, so there is a reason to want them, too, if one's budget allows for it.

How much material you are missing depends entirely upon what is in the recordings to which you are listening. Many modern soundtracks have bass going below 20 Hz, and pipe organ music can go below 20 Hz.

In my opinion, having very deep bass adds significantly to the experience. I used to have a subwoofer that was flat down to 28 Hz, but I replaced it with subwoofers that are flat to about 15 Hz. The difference is significant, and I am glad I upgraded. However, bass that deep does not come cheap, so you need to consider how much you are willing to spend before you decide you must have very deep bass.

To get an idea of "reasonably priced" subwoofers that go deep, take a look at:

http://www.svsound.com/

Here is their least expensive subwoofer, flat to about 20 Hz:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm

At that price point, you probably cannot buy a better subwoofer.

If you are curious about such things, you can go to a good audio store and listen to various subwoofers. However, SVS is online, not at regular audio stores, so you will be listening to different brands.

As for hooking up more than one subwoofer, you can use a Y as you say, but you need not worry about the impedance of the subwoofers (with powered subwoofers, you are dealing with line level input impedance, not the impedance of the actual driver). However, you will have more difficulty in setting things up properly if they are not identical subwoofers. If you are wanting really deep bass, I recommend that you simply replace your current subwoofer with something better, rather than try to use it with another subwoofer.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Human hearing is generally regarded as 20 to 20,000 Hz, though the high end in particular tends to vary according to age and damage to hearing from loud noises (which is often confused with age, as most damage to hearing from loud noises does not show up immediately). However, at the low end, you can feel frequencies below 20 Hz, so there is a reason to want them, too, if one's budget allows for it.

How much material you are missing depends entirely upon what is in the recordings to which you are listening. Many modern soundtracks have bass going below 20 Hz, and pipe organ music can go below 20 Hz.

In my opinion, having very deep bass adds significantly to the experience. I used to have a subwoofer that was flat down to 28 Hz, but I replaced it with subwoofers that are flat to about 15 Hz. The difference is significant, and I am glad I upgraded. However, bass that deep does not come cheap, so you need to consider how much you are willing to spend before you decide you must have very deep bass.

To get an idea of "reasonably priced" subwoofers that go deep, take a look at:

http://www.svsound.com/

Here is their least expensive subwoofer, flat to about 20 Hz:

http://www.svsound.com/products-sub-box-10nsd.cfm

At that price point, you probably cannot buy a better subwoofer.

If you are curious about such things, you can go to a good audio store and listen to various subwoofers. However, SVS is online, not at regular audio stores, so you will be listening to different brands.

As for hooking up more than one subwoofer, you can use a Y as you say, but you need not worry about the impedance of the subwoofers (with powered subwoofers, you are dealing with line level input impedance, not the impedance of the actual driver). However, you will have more difficulty in setting things up properly if they are not identical subwoofers. If you are wanting really deep bass, I recommend that you simply replace your current subwoofer with something better, rather than try to use it with another subwoofer.
Agreed. SVS is great for home theater.
 
B

bxrockstar

Audiophyte
subya

wouldn't split 2 subs, they end up canceling each other out
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
wouldn't split 2 subs, they end up canceling each other out
Not if your setup is setup correctly. And that cancellation smooths the in room response widening the sweet spot for bass in room.

In an ideal setup for music a sub is set at each speaker and crossed using something like a DCX 2496.
 
bandphan

bandphan

Banned
Not if your setup is setup correctly. And that cancellation smooths the in room response widening the sweet spot for bass in room.

In an ideal setup for music a sub is set at each speaker and crossed using something like a DCX 2496.
wait you mean 2 subs work, damm and the just picked up the trash.....:D
 
M

Moonlight

Audioholic Intern
Update

Ended up getting a Jensen DX 260 140w (99-2001) sub 2 x 8'' drivers going down to 20Hz. WOW!! Loved it so much I ended up getting another, both off eBay for $150 ea thats AUS $ we have to pay more over here :-( - one for each side (used a splitter although not Y ) sitting behind the fronts.
These are great for movies and music (wind levels back a bit)
Lucky for me Jensen's aren't so popular in Oz ...Yo :-D
 
Last edited:
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hi
I have a subby that has a 12 in driver which goes down to 40Hz
Just wondering what I am missing out on by not having one that goes down to say 20Hz?
Used for TV movies, CD's and DVD's soon, no Blueray.
How low can our ears hear and below that it it just a 'feel' thing and how much does that add to the experience?
If I want to connect 2 subs I hear that I can use a Y plug connected to the pre-out sub on my receiver but the subs need to be the same ohm resistance.
Is this correct?

Cheers
No speaker cuts off like a brick wall. The last octave is generally regarded as the frequency band 20 Hz to 40 Hz. Now if your sub is sealed it will roll off at 12 db during that last octave. If it is ported it will roll off 24 db in that last octave. There is not a lot of musical material in the last octave, but when listening to music that makes demands in the last octave being able to reproduce makes it a lot more satisfying. A good accurate response in the last octave provides an increased sense of space and ambiance also.

For domestic purposes a sub with an F3 in the region of 25 Hz will do the trick as with the gain of most domestic rooms you will have adequate coverage of the last octave. A sub with an F3 of 40 is not really a sub. Any decent tower speaker should be able to manage a response close to 40 Hz. So a sub with an F3 of around 40 Hz is really a bass extender for a bookshelf speaker.
 
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