Important decision regarding BASS (1 Viewer)

[Jon D]

So, I recently got a 16-46 PC, right? I ran it through the ranks, one of which includes Jurassic Park III. Popped it in. Loads of deep, powerful bass. But......I didn't enjoy it. It was too much. The bass, while deep, was so powerful, loud, and overabundant that it sounded flabby and bloated. My system is calibrated correctly, so don't go assuming things. Similar opinions were formed by me regarding Goldeneye, still possibly the king of shitty bass discs. I never thought this would happen, but I've found my limit on what is 'too much bass.' Interestingly enough, I love the bass in the DTS Haunting.

 

[Dan Hitchman]

The bass notes in The Haunting DTS-ES and Jurassic Park DTS(corrected DVD and LD) sound great because they are well recorded soundtracks and that makes the bass not only loud but what I would term "musical" as in there is a definite attack and decay like a drum (not just bloated "booming").

GoldenEye's bass was over-cooked either as a mistake for the video's audio master or during its original mixing (all versions of this movie on DVD and LD have a problem).

If Universal doesn't screw up the DTS track again, you'd be happy with Casper's quality bass too.

Dan

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Jon;
Were you just feeling bad about JPIII or all the movies you listened to? Remember that you've got that sucker in a very small room, and that might be part of why it feels so overpowering at times. Also, when you say that it's "calibrated correctly" do you mean that the bass is adjusted to the same level as the speakers? If not I suggest you turn it down. If possible, try moving the sub around the room a bit. If you have it corner loaded, that could be causing some of the bloated sound you've experienced.
Finally, give the SVS some time to settle in and watch some movies that don't have huge amounts of bass in them. After all the sub has many fine qualities. The ability to cause the ceiling to collapse isn't the only thing it does well.

 

[Jon D]

Jeff, I only feel this way about JPIII, and I felt the same even with my old setup. The bass just doesn't sound that great. I love The Haunting and Titan AE with the SVS, even though they too have levels of bass that technically could be considered overpowering. It's in the quality of the bass itself in JPIII that I'm mentioning. It has the shake factor, but many (not all) of the bass effects (especially footsteps) have an unnatural echoing boominess to them. I doubt it's a placement issue, as all the other movies I've run sound incredible. it's just JPIII.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Good! I thought you were saying that the SVS overall was too overpowering and bloated, which would be in direct contradiction to what you told me the other day.

When I come up for a visit, you will have to play the movie so I can hear what you mean.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Well, it sounds like you don't like a few soundtracks in your collection. Not a big suprise- I don't like about half the tracks in mine.

My system is calibrated correctly, so don't go assuming things.

One thing to note is how it is calibrated. It is quite possible that your system is setup wrong.
If you use Avia, the bass tones are on the main channels- and if you don't have the LFE pad in the right position you would end up with proper rerouted bass but 10 low LFE.
If you use VE, the bass tones are on the LFE channel- and if you don't have the LFE pad in the right position you would end up with proper LFE but rerouted bass from other channels would be 10db too loud...
It's quite possible (from the symptoms you described) that any tracks where you're getting a large amount of bass rerouted from the main channels- it would sound bloated and boomy, because you're getting 10db too much. This would only be an issue on titles that rely on the main channels for a great deal of bass (like the Original Pressing of Jurassic Park, and probably even Jurassic 3).
Also, of course, the pink noise used is not necessarily a representation of real bass- so if you have a small room with a 42hz hump (like I have)- the tones will meter properly- but when you get around 40hz you get a HUGE bump in volume because of room response. As a result, any disc relying heavily on 40hz would sound more excessive in your (my) room unless some sort of EQ is applied.
Just food for thought. I wouldn't be too sure about my setup unless I double check everything.
-Vince

 

[Jon D]

Vince, I use Avia, so in theory the bass from the mains is correct and the LFE is too low. This current setup works fine for me and, in all honesty, I don't need more LFE (or want it). I have heard about the Avia LFE discrepancies, though. My room has a nasty hump at 70 Hz and a smaller one at 50, but those are realtively high bass frequencies. Maybe we should get Bjorn to graph it to see what is there. I think the problem is that the bass hits are too wide, frequency wise, and that gives it the 'muddy' quality. Vince, you'd know better than I do, but that seems like a possibility.