Audyssey Announces Low Frequency Containment (LFC) Technology

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
Everyone, at one time or another, has been annoyed by the unpleasant thumps of a neighbor watching a movie or listening to music late at night. While high frequencies are easily stopped by walls, low frequencies go right through them. Well, Audyssey, never content to sit on its laurels in the area of sonic advancement, announced its new Audyssey Low Frequency Containment, or Audyssey LFC. The new technology supposedly prevents low frequencies from traveling through walls, minimizing disruption in neighboring rooms or apartments with minimal impact on bass enjoyment. It's very difficult to acoustically isolate a room because it involves additional construction. Audyssey researched how bass wavelengths interact with wall materials and developed a technology that solves the problem at the source. To attack the issue at its very core, the researchers at Audyssey first determined the range of frequencies that most readily pass through walls. Once the range was identified, they developed a process not only to reduce the level at those frequencies, but also to apply psychoacoustic processing that restores the perception of low bass for listeners in the room. Audyssey LFC is not a simple filter; rather, it dynamically monitors the low frequency range and engages only when it finds the offending frequencies.


Discuss "Audyssey Announces Low Frequency Containment (LFC) Technology" here. Read the article.
 
C

chemicallcrow

Audiophyte
Subwoofer?

Interesting... it looks like they have plans to put the technology in an Denon AVR (judging by the model #). I can't help but wonder if it would be possible to build it directly into a subwoofer.
 
K

kevon27

Annoying Poster
What? I thought a $60 Subdude would stop bass from traveling through wall? What gives?
 
zhimbo

zhimbo

Audioholic General
What? I thought a $60 Subdude would stop bass from traveling through wall? What gives?
You would be wrong. At best, it stops the direct transmission from the sub to the floor. The sound waves produced by the sub will still do their thing.
 
T

Techlord

Audioholic
Very interesting indeed, I would seriously consider buying an AVR with this feature. If anyone can accomplish this it would be Audyssey, can't wait to see it included in my next AVR as I need an upgrade anyhow!
 
R

rolski

Audioholic Intern
Eh ? Isn't this all "backwards" ?

If I've read this correctly then I'm going to have to buy this kit for all of my neighbours.... :rolleyes:
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Eh ? Isn't this all "backwards" ?

If I've read this correctly then I'm going to have to buy this kit for all of my neighbours.... :rolleyes:
You've read it wrong. You buy it for your system, and when it is engaged, supposedly, it prevents excessive bass from going into the neighbors' homes. And, supposedly, it gives you the subjective impression that you are getting all of the bass. You might want to reread the entire article.
 
Pyrrho

Pyrrho

Audioholic Ninja
Everyone, at one time or another, has been annoyed by the unpleasant thumps of a neighbor watching a movie or listening to music late at night. While high frequencies are easily stopped by walls, low frequencies go right through them. Well, Audyssey, never content to sit on its laurels in the area of sonic advancement, announced its new Audyssey Low Frequency Containment, or Audyssey LFC. The new technology supposedly prevents low frequencies from traveling through walls, minimizing disruption in neighboring rooms or apartments with minimal impact on bass enjoyment. It's very difficult to acoustically isolate a room because it involves additional construction. Audyssey researched how bass wavelengths interact with wall materials and developed a technology that solves the problem at the source. To attack the issue at its very core, the researchers at Audyssey first determined the range of frequencies that most readily pass through walls. Once the range was identified, they developed a process not only to reduce the level at those frequencies, but also to apply psychoacoustic processing that restores the perception of low bass for listeners in the room. Audyssey LFC is not a simple filter; rather, it dynamically monitors the low frequency range and engages only when it finds the offending frequencies.


Discuss "Audyssey Announces Low Frequency Containment (LFC) Technology" here. Read the article.

I am skeptical of this actually working. I would like to see some professional reviews of the product where measurements are taken in various apartments, with measurements in adjacent apartments both with and without the circuitry engaged.
 
zhimbo

zhimbo

Audioholic General
I am skeptical of this actually working. I would like to see some professional reviews of the product where measurements are taken in various apartments, with measurements in adjacent apartments both with and without the circuitry engaged.
Agreed...my "if it sounds too good to be true..." buzzers are definitely going off. I'd be thrilled to be proven wrong, though.
 
T

Techlord

Audioholic
You've read it wrong. You buy it for your system, and when it is engaged, supposedly, it prevents excessive bass from going into the neighbors' homes. And, supposedly, it gives you the subjective impression that you are getting all of the bass. You might want to reread the entire article.
I think what he meant is that in order to keep the neighbors happy he must purchase this as a feature to please his neighbors from complaining, but hay if it keeps me from getting evicted than its money well spent. Besides do you really want that old lady that lives above you to bang her cane on her floor everytime....? :D
 
digicidal

digicidal

Full Audioholic
I actually interpreted his post as exactly the opposite... and I'm inclined to agree with him if I'm correct in that assumption. Here's my 'translation':

"Since I enjoy hearing all of the bass in my house when I'm actually listening to music or watching a movie and do not care if my neighbors are bothered by this - it has limited application for me personally. On the other hand since I am bothered by hearing the bass coming from my neighbor's systems when they are watching/listening and I am trying to sleep... the only solution for my own peace of mind would be to purchase this system for all of them - rather than make them happy and still be miserable the rest of the time myself."

:D

Of course, the most universally beneficial solution (and the most finacially desirable for Audyssey) would be to buy the system for yourself and all of your neighbors so that peace and quiet may be had by all. Naturally, while we're being so philanthropic... why not just properly isolate and treat all of their rooms for them and calibrate their systems for them, and.... :eek:
 
gene

gene

Audioholics Master Chief
Administrator
I am skeptical of this actually working. I would like to see some professional reviews of the product where measurements are taken in various apartments, with measurements in adjacent apartments both with and without the circuitry engaged.

agreed, it sounds like marketing nonsense.

If you consider a typical wall 4" thick wall will transmit 1/4 wavelength frequencies through it then you'd have to start seriously cutting bass below 500Hz to significantly reduce transmission through that wall.

Even if you cut bass below 50Hz, 1/4 wavelength would be 5ft.
 
Tom Andry

Tom Andry

Speaker of the House
I have this system already. Works pretty good. It's called TOS. Turn Off Sub. If you have kids, it is voice activated.

I never use it, mind you, but I have it.
 
mpompey

mpompey

Senior Audioholic
digicidal,

You are my hero! I want to be a player just like you when I grow up! :)
 
digicidal

digicidal

Full Audioholic
digicidal,

You are my hero! I want to be a player just like you when I grow up! :)
Uh.... Thank you? :D

I guess the other question I would have about how this system would work falls squarely on the broad shoulders of "psychoacoustics" in the article. Although I think Bose has conclusively proven that it's possible to provide astonishingly inacurate FR and still convince people that your sound is fantastic, I wonder how something like frequency-replacement could work in a universal fashion.

It would seem to me that in the realm of psychoacoustics... timing is generally modifiable (DSP modes and room correction proves this) but cancelling out whole frequencies as described - which would include most if not all of the bass, and somehow creating the illusion of them still being there with non-offending frequencies (high midrange & treble) seems like an inherent impossibility.
 
fuzz092888

fuzz092888

Audioholic Warlord
So does this work? Anybody try it out?
It sort of works. It basically just attenuates all the lower frequencies that might make things vibrate down by X amount depending on how high or low you set it. I'm not sure how it differs from just lowering the bass setting, but to me it's basically an easier albeit similar process to going into Audyssey's custom option and attenuating the lower frequencies down to create your own roll off.
 
A

ArJuna

Audiophyte
The simple solution would be to turn off your sub. Heck, when I am watching TV quietly at night and I tell my Denon AVR-X3300W to knock the Sub down -12db my Klipsch R-115SW will often not even turn on, and to be honest I sometimes don't even notice it happened at those levels. Dynamic EQ already does a pretty good job so I don't wake up my wife or kids..
 
Halon451

Halon451

Audioholic Samurai
...Once the range was identified, they developed a process not only to reduce the level at those frequencies, but also to apply psychoacoustic processing that restores the perception of low bass for listeners in the room.
Except it doesn't really work all that well at restoring that "perception" of low bass. I'm not sure exactly what kind of voodoo they've employed at the circuitry level to make that kind of magic happen but cutting frequencies is cutting frequencies, and they're either there or they aren't. I have a newer AVR that has this feature and after turning it on, it more or less killed my low end. But then again, I don't live in an apartment and have no need to "contain my bass" so I just let her rip. :) I only turned it on out of curiosity because I saw it in the settings of my AVR.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Except it doesn't really work all that well at restoring that "perception" of low bass. I'm not sure exactly what kind of voodoo they've employed at the circuitry level to make that kind of magic happen but cutting frequencies is cutting frequencies, and they're either there or they aren't. I have a newer AVR that has this feature and after turning it on, it more or less killed my low end. But then again, I don't live in an apartment and have no need to "contain my bass" so I just let her rip. :) I only turned it on out of curiosity because I saw it in the settings of my AVR.
Was my basic impression, good one button solution for apartment/condo dwellers or other close proximity (maybe kids/wives in bed while you play :) ).
 
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