Can you hear the difference?

ImcLoud

ImcLoud

Audioholic Ninja
If songs and movies don't go down to 15hz and we can not hear 15 hz should we spend more on a sub that goes to 15 hz???

I have played with this Online Tone Generator - Free, Simple and Easy to Use. before and use it sometimes to setup my systems, and I can only hear from 32 hz to 15380 hz , so I really only need a speaker flat between them levels rite? Or am I thinking about this wrong? I am also curious as to where songs range from high to low, does the music we listen to go from 20-20K? Just hinking here, and don't know where to find the answers...
 
M

markw

Audioholic Overlord
No, but you might be able to feel it if it's strong enough. I've always said that, for the most part, a sub isn't needed for music. HT is a different creature. They depend on those room-shaking LFE tones to sell their product, particularly to people like those that hang here.

But, back to music: Exceptions can be made for pipe organs and synthaziers, most musical insturments don't go below around 40 hz or so. Yes, I do see piano and contrabasoon delve a bit below thirty also, but how often do those notes occur in what we listen to? And, our ears/brains are mighty handy in that we can internally "reconstruct" the fundamental tones given a good representation of the natural harmonics that occur from low notes anyway.
 
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Ponzio

Ponzio

Audioholic Samurai
Uh, what he said; markw that is.

It lends a certain filling to the overall sound; whatever that means. :D
 
J

jcl

Senior Audioholic
It also might depend on the design of the sub. For a sealed sub it's ability at 15 hz can help predict how it performs at 20 or 25 hz and helps give you a better overall idea of performance. That is unless there is a filter applied to roll off before then to protect the driver.
 
AcuDefTechGuy

AcuDefTechGuy

Audioholic Jedi
That's why the most important output to me is from 30Hz-100Hz.

And it's not just the flat response. It's the clean dynamic output to 115dB.

That's why I prefer to use subs even with speakers like Salon2 that can play FLAT to 23 Hz.

So it's that clean DYNAMIC output.
 
its phillip

its phillip

Audioholic Ninja
If I could afford to do it, I'd get as low as I could. If there's 1hz content on the movie, I'd want to feel it :D
 
J

JonnyFive23517

Audioholic
If I could afford to do it, I'd get as low as I could. If there's 1hz content on the movie, I'd want to feel it :D
Isn't there a point at which low frequency content will actually make you nauseous?
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
If songs and movies don't go down to 15hz and we can not hear 15 hz should we spend more on a sub that goes to 15 hz???

I have played with this Online Tone Generator - Free, Simple and Easy to Use. before and use it sometimes to setup my systems, and I can only hear from 32 hz to 15380 hz , so I really only need a speaker flat between them levels rite? Or am I thinking about this wrong? I am also curious as to where songs range from high to low, does the music we listen to go from 20-20K? Just hinking here, and don't know where to find the answers...
Yes, for music you really only need speakers that deliver a flat frequency response between about 30 and 16000 Hz. The extremes above or below that range don't matter so much.

So it becomes a question of how much are you willing to pay to extend that range?

Nearly all tweeters can go at least as high as 20,000 Hz without difficulty or high cost, so that isn't an issue.

However smooth bass below 40 Hz gets increasingly expensive. Few good floor standing speakers are flat down to 32 Hz, and they tend to be expensive. Speakers or subwoofers that go down to 25 Hz cost noticeably more. To go below 25 Hz costs a lot more. To extend that below 20 Hz costs quite a lot, and I personally believe is not worth it.

Of course, the "mine goes to 11" crowd will disagree with me :D.
 
Irvrobinson

Irvrobinson

Audioholic Spartan
Yes, for music you really only need speakers that deliver a flat frequency response between about 30 and 16000 Hz. The extremes above or below that range don't matter so much.
That's not what the OmniMic RTA display reveals for many contemporary jazz albums. I'm seeing considerable energy from 20-30Hz. Recordings of my wife's 22" kick drum produce quite a bit of energy in that range too.
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
That's not what the OmniMic RTA display reveals for many contemporary jazz albums. I'm seeing considerable energy from 20-30Hz. Recordings of my wife's 22" kick drum produce quite a bit of energy in that range too.
Even though you're not one of the "mine goes to 11" crowd, I disagree :).
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
The tactile feel adds "presence" to the deep notes, but is it necessary or really a major benefit? Not sure. I went from my former sub that was tuned to 17.5hz and vented and it was a lot of fun down low, but switching to my current one that is sealed but still extends fairly low (15hz in room) and I don't miss that vibration at the bottom.

Isn't there a point at which low frequency content will actually make you nauseous?
No there isn't. Mythbusters busted it 100%
 
ImcLoud

ImcLoud

Audioholic Ninja
it exists, didn't you see my previous link, I think Southpark is a little more reliable than "myth busters" , c'mon now...
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I can hear sound to about 22hz. Can't really hear 20Hz or below in room as far as I can tell, but the Empire is still vibrating things in the room below that :)
 
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