Has SVS met its match? (1 Viewer)

[ken nomimashita]

why the hell does the subwoofer need to play down to 16hz? almost nothing has information that low (and you cant hear it anyhow)

?

 

[Craig Chase]

Because we are ignorant ... but since you posted that, everyone here will be sure to sell his/her subwoofer

Thanks for enlightnening us, Ken !!!

 

[Ralph B]

NO!

 

[Nick V]

Because you can FEEL it!!!

I have a Mirage BPS-400 that goes pretty low, and pretty loud, but I bet those Contrabasses are INCREDIBLE!!

 

[ken nomimashita]

i guess it might be useful if you are reproducing explosions or pipe organs though.. but i guess if you have that kind of money to throw around go for it.

 

[ken nomimashita]

i guess it might be useful if you are reproducing explosions or pipe organs though.. but i guess if you have that kind of money to throw around go for it.

 

[Mike_Skeway]

I will do that. I might even be able to get myself down your way.

 

[Edward J M]

Yes, infrasonic information, properly reproduced without annoying harmonics, is a real treat.

Anyone who has heard the now infamous "SoundHound Classical Organ CD" on a real subwoofer capable of playing a 16-17 Hz fundamental with low distortion at a life-like volume can attest the experience is truly awesome. The fundamental tingles every piece of furniture in the room and even the concrete floor, and the sense of modulating pressure in the air is really cool.

With the PB2+, I was able to get 105 dB @ 16 Hz @ 3M in a 2000 ft3 room with about 5% harmonic distortion. An incredible performance for any conventional subwoofer and easily loud enough to reproduce the sensation of a live 32 foot pipe organ in a church.

 

[terence]

I can definatly co-sign on that one. The SoundHound CD has some incredible low end below 20Hz that will knock your socks off. Track 10 comes to mind as i type this, i look @ pipe organ music in a whole new light after hearing/feeling it.

 

[Ron Stimpson]

Ken,

As noted, there are more and more movies with content that low, and lower. Just flip through some of the scenes here:

http://www.svsubwoofers.com/faq.htm#moviedemos

If you think you don't need to hear/feel all that's on those disks, well, around enthusiast circles anyway, you are increasingly going to be in the minority probably. Audio as depicted over and over on that web page, was put on the soundtracks for a reason. Just as most enthusiasts here want widescreen movies so they don't miss the picture intended by the director, having subwoofers (and main speakers) capable of addressing most, if not all of what's there sonically is just as important.

And don't think for a second you can't hear (or otherwise sense) things that low. Just like a few seconds of dialogue can totally alter your impression of a movie, so too can the forboding, tension, and even fear imbedded in a movie be fundamentally affected by deep bass... even sub-sonic bass.

We did some waterfall measurements (actual in room response) with a pair of 16-46CS-Plus subs if I recall correctly, a couple years ago. There was one scene in the movie "Crimson Tide" which had some very high amplitude VERY low frequency sound effects popping up intermittently. It was centered right around 10Hz and I could stick my finger up every time I heard/felt it and a second later you could literally see it displayed on the screen of our test gear (the waterfall charts lag just bit on the RTA software we were running at the time).

Now, whether I was hearing it, or just reacting to my liver vibrating I don't know for sure, but it was there, and undeniably part of the movie experience.

Again, that sort of sensation might be unimportant to you, it might even be unimportant to MOST movie viewers, but if you have experienced audio like that, even on movies you believe you know well, it can be a real eye/ear opener to enjoy aspects of the sound stage that were simply not reproduced before.

In short, sound cues, even subsonic ones, are a visceral part of movie/music appreciation... and today's high resolution sound sources practically beg to be explored fully.

PS, an SVS 16-46PCi is $649 plus shipping and will extend to around 10-12Hz when placed in the corner of a small/mid-sized room. You don't need that much "money to throw around" to get there anymore. Same can be said for high-quality widescreen projectors. For a relatively modest investment you can experience much more than possible just a few years ago, and it's not only explosions and pipe organs fortunately (though certainly those are in many popular movies in abundance).

Cheers,

Ron
SVS

 

[terence]

Ken,

I think if you have someone demo some subsonic material (dvd,cd) you will have a different veiw. You won't miss what you never had. Subsonics in movies IMO tend to give more depth to the film when watching action, drama etc, a sence of realness that draws you in even more.

Try it! You just might like it!

 

[Mark Seaton]

This thread is a good one to peruse and look at the content in modern soundtracks.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...hreadid=144887

FYI, the original use of the production ContraBass was for theater organs, which is why the output at low frequency was specified at 16Hz.

 

[ken nomimashita]

i was playing with test tones and from about 20hz and down the subs just moved a hell of a lot and pushed air around. didnt hear anything...

 

[Craig Chase]

Ken, Congratulations... You were what the market study identified as the perfect candidate for a Bose 3-2-1 system...

 

[JohnSmith]

Well, duh.:rolleyes

 

[Robb Roy]

Ken,

From 20 Hz on down you probably won't hear anything (other than possible distortion/harmonics) but you'd feel it. What you describe, assuming you weren't feeling much, either, is exactly what you'd expect from a subwoofer that wasn't reproducing those tones with authority. Did you take any SPL measurements while you ran those tests? What sub(s) were you running and in how large a room?

-Robb

 

[terence]

The anwsers to those questions will explain a lot. I was going to ask the same things.

 

[Dan Hine]

In addition to what some others have said, just because YOU don't hear anything means no one else can? I'm sorry but 20hz is not a magical cut off point for all human beings.

 

[Mark Seaton]

Dan is right on the money in this statement. Our ears have a hearing sensitivity which follows a curve, not just a defined range. Even 10Hz can be made audible if well above 100dB. I seem to recall 108-110dB being this threshold. Likewise, if we track the equal loudness curves down to the low frequencies, we find that below 40-60Hz, the lines get much closer, implying that it requires much less than 10dB to percieve a doubling of loudness at these lower frequencies. As such, seemingly small changes to low frequency response or extension can result in significant subjective changes.