What does it mean when they say a sub "pressurizes the room"?

[audioboy9317]

Do all subs pressurize a room?

 

[Teetertotter?]

Your answer should lie here: subwoofer pressurization - Bing

 

[ryanosaur]

Ideally, yes, but it is not necessary for good enjoyment.
Easiest way to think about it is that the low frequency soundwaves are so long and powerful, that as they bounce around inside of a closed space (your room) they create a sensation of pressure. Perhaps another way to describe it is if you think of the room as part of the cabinet and you are inside it...

Higher frequencies do not do this... for example, a Piccolo will not pressurize a room... it may make you want to leave the room, however, even if played particularly well.

Regardless, the logical extension of this is that you want to feel those lower frequencies, and in fact below the threshold of our hearing, you will only feel those waves. If you have a closed room that is less than 2000cu.ft in volume, this becomes relatively easy to do, however at 5000 or 8000cu.ft. you will need larger and more powerful Drivers/Subwoofers, and perhaps more of them.

(This is a simplification, and frankly, yes a piccolo could pressurize a room... (and I still wouldn't want to be in that room!). It is also possible to get creative in your placement of subwoofers to create a sense of pressurization in a smaller area of a much larger room.)

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Well if you have to ask, you won’t understand.

The easiest description I can think of. Sitting in a car with a kick a$$ system and too many subs. When it hits, and you feel like your underwater. That’s pressurization.

 

[audioboy9317]

I went and listened to this guy at REL try to explain it and it makes no sense to me. However, I think ryansaur put it best........a listener will feel "enveloped" by the sound, and will physically feel it. Is that correct?

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

I went and listened to this guy at REL try to explain it and it makes no sense to me. However, I think ryansaur put it best........a listener will feel "enveloped" by the sound, and will physically feel it. Is that correct?

Yes. I think that’s close enough. You’ll know it when you experience it. It’s pretty awesome.

Btw, I can’t imagine REL subs pressuring much. He must have worked somewhere else before REL lol.

 

[Trebdp83]

Some get silly with it in cars.

 

[lovinthehd]

Try this article on the schroeder frequency for more understanding how low frequencies work in typical home rooms https://www.soundandvision.com/content/schroeder-frequency-show-and-tell-part-1

 

[Verdinut]

Some get silly with it in cars.

Some of those nuts must have severe hearing problems! Eardrums must have moved beyond their Xmax!

 

[lovinthehd]

Some of those nuts must have severe hearing problems! Eardrums must have moved beyond their Xmax!

I think much of the time they do the big stunts with cars like that there's no one in the car, it's done remotely. I suppose measuring the amount of annoyance in these competitions is particularly important?

 

[shadyJ]

The word "pressurize" is being misused here. I actually wrote an article that partly addresses this misuse, although it hasn't been published yet. Subwoofers do not pressurize a room. Subwoofers can fill up a room with high amplitude pressure waves, but it isn't the same thing. To pressurize a space implies atmospheric pressure, and that isn't the way sound pressure waves work. It really is high time to put the idea of "pressurizing" a room with subwoofers to bed. Hopefully, that article will be published soon.

 

[Eppie]

Saying that a subwoofer pressurizes a room is just a lazy way of describing the sensation without having to explain sound pressure waves. I guess we'll be able to refer people to your article instead in the near future.

 

[Auditor55]

Some of those nuts must have severe hearing problems! Eardrums must have moved beyond their Xmax!

Fools.

 

[ryanosaur]

Eardrums must have moved beyond their Xmax!

Last time that happened to me was a power chord at ~140dB, in a club that was packed so tight the pit had a convection current to it! I started off in the middle of the floor, but as more and more people came up through the center, everybody else got pushed up an outwards. Ended up right by the stage right stack when it happened. FML I hope never to hear the sound that occurred inside my head again: if an eardrum can scream, mine did! And that’s exactly what it sounded like.

There’s a time and place for everything, and it’s called college!

 

[Verdinut]

Last time that happened to me was a power chord at ~140dB, in a club that was packed so tight the pit had a convection current to it! I started off in the middle of the floor, but as more and more people came up through the center, everybody else got pushed up an outwards. Ended up right by the stage right stack when it happened. FML I hope never to hear the sound that occurred inside my head again: if an eardrum can scream, mine did! And that’s exactly what it sounded like.

There’s a time and place for everything, and it’s called college!

We often hear that the treshold of pain is at 140 dB. Was the occurrence painful?

 

[ryanosaur]

We often hear that the treshold of pain is at 140 dB. Was the occurrence painful?

To be fair, I left my OSHA SPL meter at home that night...

It definitely was not comfortable, to be certain, and I quite deliberately left the pit for a slightly more calm spot much further back.

I never went to a show again without my practice room earplugs.

 

[Kingnoob]

Ideally, yes, but it is not necessary for good enjoyment.
Easiest way to think about it is that the low frequency soundwaves are so long and powerful, that as they bounce around inside of a closed space (your room) they create a sensation of pressure. Perhaps another way to describe it is if you think of the room as part of the cabinet and you are inside it...

Higher frequencies do not do this... for example, a Piccolo will not pressurize a room... it may make you want to leave the room, however, even if played particularly well.

Regardless, the logical extension of this is that you want to feel those lower frequencies, and in fact below the threshold of our hearing, you will only feel those waves. If you have a closed room that is less than 2000cu.ft in volume, this becomes relatively easy to do, however at 5000 or 8000cu.ft. you will need larger and more powerful Drivers/Subwoofers, and perhaps more of them.

(This is a simplification, and frankly, yes a piccolo could pressurize a room... (and I still wouldn't want to be in that room!). It is also possible to get creative in your placement of subwoofers to create a sense of pressurization in a smaller area of a much larger room.)

It’s easy if you don’t use a baby tiny subwoofer haha , except in big massive rooms then good luck carrying 200 pounds subwoofer ..

I don’t think my small low end 10” subs downstairs pressurized anything but enough for cable I guess … not as good as a high end sub .

My diy one needs extra bracing unless it’s the sub plate amp rattling I hardly use it anyway .. it’s not as good as a commercial sub but pressurized bedroom to overkill mode . Poor room acoustics too..

I can’t turn it up loud or it rattles the walls , do I need better iso pad then my diy one? Or two large subwoofer waves just shake the walls anyway?
It’s not the plate amp but could use More internal bracing .
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