What does "real" base sound like?

EdNichols · 04-02-2003, 07:42 AM

I have read many threads on "boomy" subs and how a good sub isn't boomy. I have a cheap sub (which I will be upgrading) that I think sounds boomy on some music but I am not sure. I am pretty sure that real boomy sound is what you hear when a car stereo a block away has the 1000 watt radio turned up full blast. I read one thread where a couple people said that you can't hear "good" base you "feel" it. I know in movies with low LFE at loud levels this may be the case, but what about music? Are you supposed to feel base and not hear it in music also? Any opinions?

Dustin B · 04-02-2003, 07:53 AM

Well it will be really tough to hear a base :p) Sorry couldn't resist (don't worry Brian should be hear shortly to remind me how I used to spell baffle).

Good bass sounds like the real thing. A bass drum sounds like a real bass drum not just a boom. As for feel vs hear, this doesn't come into play until you get down to the bottom of the first octave and very little music makes use of this area. So I very much disagree with the statment that you feel not hear good bass.

The thing is most people have never turned their speakers off to hear only the sub. They'd be surprised how much of the sound they thought was their sub wasn't.

Jeff Bamberger · 04-02-2003, 08:41 AM

All your base........

EdNichols · 04-02-2003, 09:00 AM

Yeah, Yeah, I know, I know. First base, home base, not speaker base. It was early in the morning and I just got back from fishing......... by the way I caught a 10 lb. bass!!!!!

EdNichols · 04-02-2003, 09:07 AM

Quote;

The thing is most people have never turned their speakers off to hear only the sub. They'd be surprised how much of the sound they thought was their sub wasn't.

Dustin,

I don't think my receiver has this capability other than lowering the main speaker levels a far as they will go with the test tones. By the way, by this statement, do you think the "boominess" may be coming from the main speakers and not the sub?

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Brian Bunge · 04-02-2003, 09:21 AM

I don't like bass. They're ugly and smell fishy!

Nathan J · 04-02-2003, 09:46 AM

If your reciever cant do this, simply unplug your speaker wires.

As for the hearing vs. feeling....some bass you will hear, some you will feel. If you have a good sub with a decent amount of power, you will feel alot of it. Some really, really low bass though isnt really audible (like below 20hz)The sub is just pressurizing the air, and you end up feeling it more than hearing it.

EdNichols · 04-02-2003, 10:16 AM

Dustin,
You were right. Brian did show up!!! He must be the official spell checker.

By the way, the fish has a 9 lb magnet and a long throw pole. I bet it'll put out some loud rumbling base!!

Philip Hamm · 04-02-2003, 10:54 AM

Quote:

All your base

Are belong to us.

With the controversy regarding the Patagonian Toothfish and overfishing, I have chosen to refrain from eating "Chilean Sea Bass".

Lee Bailey · 04-02-2003, 10:55 AM

If you want to experience real bass, you need to go to some concerts, preferably with several types of music. If you are talking movie bass, try going to a theater that is THX rated. That way you know that there is some sort of standard in place.