Several Questions about PB2+ (and powerful subs in general) (1 Viewer)

[Wallis]

I just got my SVS PB2+ and, like the other happy owners here, I am amazed at how it shakes the house. I have not really taken it out for a true test drive yet, but look forward to doing so. I do have several questions:

1. I have one neighbor. His house is about 25 feet from my listening room, with an 8 foot wood fence separating us. I've stood by the fence (15 feet from my house) and can barely hear (or feel) the subwoofer even when it's rattling my listening room. Can I assume that the subwoofer is not bothering my neighbors if it barely can be heard by my fence? Or, will the sound waves magnify once they get to a wood structure, making the subwoofer's noise louder inside his house than it is by my fence?

2. My son has a partial hearing loss--due to a genetic condition, not environmental factors. My wife is concerned that playing the subwoofer too loudly will exacerbate his hearing losses. My impression is that hearing losses from loud noises typically result from high decibel, high frequency sounds. If that's the case, I'm probably okay. Am I right?

3. Just curious about one matter: In a high-quality commercial movie theater, how loud will the subwoofers go? How low in frequency will they go?

Wallis

 

[Dustin B]

1) Won't be an issue, if you can barely hear it by your fence and your neighbour will have another wall for the sound to penetrate you'll be fine with that assumption.

2) Don't know that anyone here can answer that question. Not knowing the specifics of your son's condition makes it impossible to say for sure. To a person with normal hearing there is no danger from a properly calibrated home theater (well unless you watch a major action scene on repeat for hours on end). I'd consult a doctor (preferrably an audiologist) who knows the specifics of your son's condition for whether there will be a difference between how a person with normal hearing and your son will be affected by the sound a calibrated home theater will produce.

3) There are some top shelf theaters that will hit you with almost 120dB down to 20hz or lower. Typically good theaters won't do much below 30hz though. The rooms are just too big.

 

[Wallis]

Thanks, Dustin.

 

[Bernie_A]

NOt to be scarcastic (spell?) but pertaining to question #1....turn on your favorite movie louder than you'll ever listen to it and while it's playing, why don't you just go ask your neighbor if he can hear/feel anything?

That's what I did and guess what.....he's a complete audiophile nut-head with a very nice HT and now, we share Netfix cost and swap movies all the time. Very cool.

Oh....and BTW, we are about the same distance away and we can never....I repeat....never hear each others HT ever.

 

[Greg_R]

1) No, a wood fence will not amplify the sound waves.

Loud higher frequency sounds are more piercing to a human (a baby's scream, etc.) but low frequencies can still cause hearing loss in a short amount of time. I would talk to your son's ear doctor about this specific issue.

3) A HT is capable of reproducing lower frequencies at higher SPLs because the speakers are energizing a much smaller volume of air. This is why car stereos can get extremely loud (very small volume of air, lots of power).