How do you keep bass in an open room?

[stl1cjg]

First off I have searched here and everywhere else on bass treatments, but nothing really answers my problem. I have a "roughly" 26 x 14 HT. The problem I have and have always known is that the theater is opened on the right and back side. There is a half wall that runs the length on both. Just put in my studio 60's from upstairs into the theater. There is a much noticeable lack of low end. Now...I know that because the room I had them in before was much smaller and was almost fully enclosed... bass response and extension was much better. If I walk to the back of the basement, nearly 60 feet away, I can pick up more bass. My thought is that the sound wave is reaching a reflective point and turning back in on itself.

Is there a way to keep as much of the bass in the room without having to add a full wall? Will traps solve this? I have plans on hanging "movie style" curtains at the back and part of the side for decoration as well as treatment. Will this help?

Plans are for dual subs, maybe 1 PB13 ultra. My concerns are that all the LF will leave the theater and hit the back wall of the basement.

Again, if this has been posted I apologize in advance. It seems like most threads on this topic deal with controlling boominess and square rooms. I am more interested in getting better response and extention. Hopefully the pics showed up. Thanks

 

[TLS Guy]

First off I have searched here and everywhere else on bass treatments, but nothing really answers my problem. I have a "roughly" 26 x 14 HT. The problem I have and have always known is that the theater is opened on the right and back side. There is a half wall that runs the length on both. Just put in my studio 60's from upstairs into the theater. There is a much noticeable lack of low end. Now...I know that because the room I had them in before was much smaller and was almost fully enclosed... bass response and extension was much better. If I walk to the back of the basement, nearly 60 feet away, I can pick up more bass. My thought is that the sound wave is reaching a reflective point and turning back in on itself.

Is there a way to keep as much of the bass in the room without having to add a full wall? Will traps solve this? I have plans on hanging "movie style" curtains at the back and part of the side for decoration as well as treatment. Will this help?

Plans are for dual subs, maybe 1 PB13 ultra. My concerns are that all the LF will leave the theater and hit the back wall of the basement.

Again, if this has been posted I apologize in advance. It seems like most threads on this topic deal with controlling boominess and square rooms. I am more interested in getting better response and extention. Hopefully the pics showed up. Thanks

Bass leakage, a big problem in your situation.

If you can't stem the leakage, then all you can do is increase power. I know of no other solution.

 

[WaynePflughaupt]

More power, and maybe a change in speakers or subs (you didn’t way which one you’re having the issue with) that have greater output and lower extension (in the case of the latter).

It isn’t as bad as you might think, though. There are actually some benefits to open rooms like yours, compared to smaller closed-off rooms. For one, nasty room modes in the low frequencies are less of an issue. For another, an open asymmetrical room will have less of the problem of a bass “dead zone” in the center of the room.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[stl1cjg]

Wayne,

Thanks for the response. The only speakers in the room at this time are the Studio 60's. I will keep them as they are only 2 months old. Since I have moved them to a much larger room with different acoustic qualities, I have heard first hand the difference room size, treatments, or lack of, can make. In no way do the MF and LF sound worse. The LF sounds thin. If anything they image much better as they have more room to "breathe".

Since I am still in the market for the sub(s), I was worried about the subs ability to keep the sound waves in the room and not scattered throughout the entire basement. I know this would be a sub forum question, but I am considering 2 subs now instead of 1 large sub.

For now I will keep experimenting with placement and possibly look at putting some large traps in the back of the room.

Also, By July I will have an XPA-3. This should take care of the power issue.

Thanks Again

 

[bpape]

There are a couple of things to consider.

First, the larger space simply requires more bass energy to pressurize properly than your previous smaller and enclosed space. The addittion of subwoofers will help with that somewhat.

Secondly, you need to consider the entire space when looking for a good place to sit - not just the area you're using. You'll likely get much better bass smoothness (though not the pressurization) by sittingfarther back than you're accustomed to.

Bryan

 

[TLS Guy]

Wayne,

Thanks for the response. The only speakers in the room at this time are the Studio 60's. I will keep them as they are only 2 months old. Since I have moved them to a much larger room with different acoustic qualities, I have heard first hand the difference room size, treatments, or lack of, can make. In no way do the MF and LF sound worse. The LF sounds thin. If anything they image much better as they have more room to "breathe".

Since I am still in the market for the sub(s), I was worried about the subs ability to keep the sound waves in the room and not scattered throughout the entire basement. I know this would be a sub forum question, but I am considering 2 subs now instead of 1 large sub.

For now I will keep experimenting with placement and possibly look at putting some large traps in the back of the room.

Also, By July I will have an XPA-3. This should take care of the power issue.

Thanks Again

Without a physical barrier you won't stop the bass filling the whole open space. LF wave lengths are very long.