D

Dude#1279435

Audioholic Spartan
If I want to know how low a sub will go I want to look at frequency or crossover response??? It seems on some specs the frequency is lower.
 
William Lemmerhirt

William Lemmerhirt

Audioholic Overlord
Yes you want to look at the lowest Hz measurement or listing. Most good commercial ported subs list output down to about 20hz give or take. Sealed ones usually start to roll off between 30 and 35hz.
Not sure what crossover response means. If you’re looking at the “crossover knob” on a sub, that’s more like a low pass filter and adjusts how high in the frequency spectrum the sub will play. This is mostly useful when not using bass management in the AVR and offers a different way to blend subs with the mains.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Plus you want to see the f3 (-3dB point) in that low frequency spec (a word for how low it goes is extension btw).
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Looking at a model like this:

The manufacturer's specifications call for a -3dB rolloff at 16Hz on the low end.

Any decent manufacturer should list their specifications in this manner.
 
Speedskater

Speedskater

Audioholic General
But each manufacture may use a different test protocol, so it's hard to compare.
Same goes for all electronic hi-fi components.
Also different manufactures have different test philosophies. Some test the best one in the warehouse while others use very conservative values.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Of course if a full suite of tests are done by a third party, like in Audioholics reviews, you get more information. Data-bass.com is another good source of such third party testing, Brent Butterworth another.....
 
D

Dude#1279435

Audioholic Spartan
I see around 20hz for subs, but what's the low you want for speakers?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
I see around 20hz for subs, but what's the low you want for speakers?
Depends :) Many people are happy with speakers that extend into the 30s, 40s, 50s.....some don't use subs with any of them either. Depends what you want. Ideally I'd like a speaker to be full range but they get kinda pricey, so combining various speakers with subs can do quite well. Something like the JTR Noesis 215RT can do quite well at 20hz and below, too.
 
L

Leemix

Audioholic General
I see around 20hz for subs, but what's the low you want for speakers?
That depends on if you are going to use a sub or not. Bookshelf or tower speaker, budget and personal preference.
How low hz has nothing to do with sound quality.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
D

Dude#1279435

Audioholic Spartan
Depends :) Many people are happy with speakers that extend into the 30s, 40s, 50s.....some don't use subs with any of them either. Depends what you want. Ideally I'd like a speaker to be full range but they get kinda pricey, so combining various speakers with subs can do quite well. Something like the JTR Noesis 215RT can do quite well at 20hz and below, too.
Oh yeah right in my price range. ;)
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
Generally speaking, you want your speakers to cover a range from 20hz to 20,000hz. This isn't easy to do with a low budget. So, you have to go and listen to speakers to see what you like. It's also not something that paper reviews can answer for you. Even positive recommendations from others may not give you a solution you are happy with.

Yes, the more reviews you read, the more you may understand what is going on. But, that doesn't mean you will like the sound of any specific speaker or even a subwoofer based upon the review. It's not until you listen to it, often in your room, that you will know if it is appropriate for you.

A set of inexpensive bookshelf speakers and a decent small subwoofer may be all you need to be quite happy. But, your listening matters most. Not the claimed specs.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
If you can get speakers that cover at least the bottom end of Bass Guitar or Upright Bass (41 Hz) with authority, you are doing pretty well. The next step up would be to cover the lowest note on most Pianos (29 Hz)...
And then comes the mythical true Full Range Speakers which will cover at least 20Hz and up... depending on the tweeter you could see 20K-40K Hz listed as the high end response. But I digress.
When it comes to Subs, I like Pipe Organ, so my quest was to find Subs that could perform down to 15-16Hz which covers the 32' pipe/low C of the Grand Organs just over 16 Hz. This is also a good point for most Subs in HT as you will get the majority of any worthwhile Infrasonics likely included in the LFE channel. (Mind, the LFE can include information as low 1Hz and up to 120Hz.)

I agree with the above suggestions that you ideally want to see the F3, or -3dB point of the FR specifically listed. Some companies will give you an "in-room" response, others the -10dB range... and it gets confusing. But seeing the "16-250Hz ±3dB" (for example) tells you that the 16Hz is likely the F3.

Just to complicate things... ;) I still use Subs with my mains that hit 25Hz. In fact I cross them at 80Hz, as I've found this give me the best performance in my system for my Speakers' reproduction of Mids and Highs, and my Subs' performance down low.
And in support of what BMX said above... don't just buy a speaker because it says it fas a certain FR... though it is a good criteria to set... but make certain the Speakers you buy SOUND GREAT! I would rather have exceptional speakers that only play down to 60Hz than mediocre speakers that play down to 20 Hz.
 
D

Dude#1279435

Audioholic Spartan
I agree with the above suggestions that you ideally want to see the F3, or -3dB point of the FR specifically listed. Some companies will give you an "in-room" response, others the -10dB range... and it gets confusing. But seeing the "16-250Hz ±3dB" (for example) tells you that the 16Hz is likely the F3.
Can the human ear even hear below 20hz?
 
davidscott

davidscott

Audioholic Ninja
Depends on how many drinks (or whatever) you have had. :)
 
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