Best sub for low volume bass

B

Blazeway

Enthusiast
Hey so I crank my music and watch movies with the volume very high but I also watch a lot of movies and TV at night where I have to keep the volume relatively low. I still want bass. Crisp tight bass that you can feel, but at a lower volume level.
My first choice is a pb-1000 pro but I'm wondering if the pb-2000 pro would be better suited for nighttime movies. The 2000 pro is a little more expensive than I really want to pay (it's $1499) here in Canada. Compared to $1099 for the 1000 pro. Just wondering your thoughts on this.
 
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Samurai
At low spls, we are less sensitive to the frequency extremes, thus the need for some sort of loudness compensation equalization (e.g. Audyssey DEQ, Yamaha's YPAO volume). It's not a matter of which sub you use, but the application of the appropriate eq. Sub choice should depend more on how large the listening room is, and it's ability to achieve the spl you like when you're cranking it, not when you're listening at low levels late at night.
 
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ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
And even with those equalization and compression algo's applied to your output, you also still have to account for the way soundwaves interact with a room.
I will say, that what you ask for is physically impossible:
Crisp tight bass that you can feel, but at a lower volume level.
Feeling bass is an effect of SPL. I can turn down content where I know there to be strong infrasonic program, and nothing will happen. Why? There is not enough air being moved. I can turn that same content up and cause the walls around me to rattle as if a spaceship were landing on top of my house.
Same program, different SPL. Do you think my Subs aren't capable? ;)
Moreover, as we are much less sensitive to hearing frequencies as they drop, you need to boost them higher still to experience them.
If you think I might be describing a Catch-22 to you, well... ya.

Shop for the Sub that is right for your room. Period. No Sub will have magically better low-SPL output than what it is capable of at max SPL before it reaches it's limits and distorts.

Oh... and please for the love of all that's holy in sound reproduction, can we pretty please drop the "crisp" and "tight" adjectives? These are words reviewers and marketeers toss around. No well respected company builds Subs these days that don't perform at very high levels... and if they did, they wouldn't sell!
 
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lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
At low volumes I think as suggested a loudness contour like Audyssey DynamicEQ or YPAO Volume will be somewhat what you're looking for. Maybe install a tactile transducer in your favorite chair....
 
ski2xblack

ski2xblack

Audioholic Samurai
This is a common issue, at least for those of us yet to be evicted by the loved ones we cohabitate with. I do my late night, don't-disturb-the-family-but-still-want-it-thick-and-rich sessions using an old Yamaha stereo receiver. The old school analog variable loudness control applies the same sort of lopsided smiley that DEQ does, but with *much* greater range of adjustment available.
 
S

sterling shoote

Audioholic Field Marshall
Hey so I crank my music and watch movies with the volume very high but I also watch a lot of movies and TV at night where I have to keep the volume relatively low. I still want bass. Crisp tight bass that you can feel, but at a lower volume level.
My first choice is a pb-1000 pro but I'm wondering if the pb-2000 pro would be better suited for nighttime movies. The 2000 pro is a little more expensive than I really want to pay (it's $1499) here in Canada. Compared to $1099 for the 1000 pro. Just wondering your thoughts on this.
For the perception you desire the bass volume must be adjusted. This is problematic for a multitude of reasons when the idea of low overall volume is to accomodate others who want to sleep.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
The Hideaway Theater

BOSS riser. Done.

There’s really just no way to have any kind of TR without spl. Sorry neighbor!!!!!!! Not.
 
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