Well, they didn't go out, but I got to do some testing anyway, while they were home. Hmmm, something wrong with that. They must want something...
I have to say, the bass traps did wonders! Before I installed them, I had that peak at 100Hz. Not only that, from 80 Hz down, the FR dropped off quite steeply, no matter what I did with the phase switches on my subs. I know they aren't "serious" subwoofers, but they're better than what I was reading on the SPL meter. The Rives CD has just 1/3 octave tones, but that's all I had time to use last night. Instead of that 100Hz peak, I now have almost flat response from 100Hz down to 31.5Hz. 25Hz is 5db below that line, which would be pretty much all I could expect from these subs.
My subjective impressions are in line with the readings I got. I find these CDs to be good references for bass quality:
AIG High Resolution Recordings: The Bellingham Sessions Volumes 1 and 2. I had used Vol 1 while trying to work out my bass issues. It had sounded great on my 2-channel rig, but terrible in the HT. The bass was bloated and seemed to overpower the accompanying instruments. I tried it again last night and it sounded a
lot better, with all the instruments sounding much more balanced. Watching a bit of TV indicated that dialog was more clear as well.
My wife asked me if I was
finally happy. I replied, "I'm happi....er". I received the
in response. Subwoofer FR that drops off in the high 20s just isn't going to cut it over the long haul. And, I now have a couple of fairly deep dips around 200Hz and 500-600Hz. Not sure what to do about those. They certainly aren't as noticeable as the former peak was, so they are easier to live with. Further testing with 1/6 octave, or better, tones is in order.
All-in-all, the time, effort and cost (about $140) was
well worth it.
