Hi,
I'm unclear on subwoofer design with regard to our perception of low range frequencies. Our lowest audible frequency is around 20hz. The lowest musical note, an A0 note, is 27.5hz. Most of us lose the ability to locate a frequency source around 80hz. By definition, sub-bass frequencies are 20hz to 60hz.
In addition, our hearing is more sensitive to lower frequencies than higher frequencies, especially at listening levels that don't cause hearing damage. Fletcher Munson Curves - Teach Me Audio
Apparently, we both hear and feel bass as frequency decreases. At some frequency range feeling will become more important than hearing. I haven't seen a graph that describes this transition yet.
How would you design a subwoofer frequency response in this context? Is there a point where you'd cut off low frequency reproduction from the speakers and cross them over to bass shakers?
For example, should you design a subwoofer to reach an A0 note at 27.5hz and then let a bass shaker take over from there because it's no longer a musical frequency from that point. And should you design the frequency at 27.5hz to be flat with higher frequencies at typical listening levels?
I'm unclear on subwoofer design with regard to our perception of low range frequencies. Our lowest audible frequency is around 20hz. The lowest musical note, an A0 note, is 27.5hz. Most of us lose the ability to locate a frequency source around 80hz. By definition, sub-bass frequencies are 20hz to 60hz.
In addition, our hearing is more sensitive to lower frequencies than higher frequencies, especially at listening levels that don't cause hearing damage. Fletcher Munson Curves - Teach Me Audio
Apparently, we both hear and feel bass as frequency decreases. At some frequency range feeling will become more important than hearing. I haven't seen a graph that describes this transition yet.
How would you design a subwoofer frequency response in this context? Is there a point where you'd cut off low frequency reproduction from the speakers and cross them over to bass shakers?
For example, should you design a subwoofer to reach an A0 note at 27.5hz and then let a bass shaker take over from there because it's no longer a musical frequency from that point. And should you design the frequency at 27.5hz to be flat with higher frequencies at typical listening levels?
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Your question is a good one but might be re-stated as: what is a realistic way to reproduce the in-person experience of events with very low frequencies at home? For example, a roller coaster ride with the wheels bumping along the tracks and track breaks or a movie-simulation of an earthquake.
Second, given the sound and motion that might have been captured in the recording of the event, what are the best compromises in pleasurably reproducing that event?
B.
Second, given the sound and motion that might have been captured in the recording of the event, what are the best compromises in pleasurably reproducing that event?
B.
You might also look into rotary subwoofer design. Commercial offerings can be on the expensive side, but a guy named Chris Hudlin has made a DIY version and has a PDF you can download listing all the parts and part sources he used. These can devices get you down into single digit frequencies.
Video of Chris answering some questions on his unit.
Video of Chris answering some questions on his unit.
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"Body fat has also been shown to dampen vibration and obstruct its propagation throughout the body, so shedding some body fat may help to get a more visceral feeling from your sound system."
I'll add a treadmill to the home theater.
I'll add a treadmill to the home theater.
'Preachin' to the choir', but have built quite a few speaker systems for females with a surprising number moving to Maggies over time, a clearly a different listening audience, so guess it seems reasonable that there would be a lot of SAF/WAF/SO issues.
GM
You can load audio into Audacity (free software), and calculate the frequency content spectrum. You'll likely find for most of the music you listen to, there is little below 35 or 40Hz. Maybe others listen to cooler music than I do, but that's what I concluded. HT may be different.
Starting to look to me like it's a good idea to tune a musical sub at or above an A0 note and then cross to bass shakers below that for home theater.
For typical listeners, it looks like you can easily get away with a musical sub well above 27hz.
For typical listeners, it looks like you can easily get away with a musical sub well above 27hz.
Vinyl had the physical limit of 30hz (lower is hard to cut), and the music industry keeps that limit (even if digital can go lower) in most cases. It's only on some organ music or some underground electronic music that goes lower.
I tune (as bassaddict) my subs always to stay below 30hz on F3, and 29.9Hz is enough (lower is no issue). Higher up i'm missing a lot of info of the music i listen to (like in modern reggae, dub, jungle, oldskool dubstep, UK garage, hiphop, grime). For rock and mainstream (white) pop, 40 or even 50Hz is low enough, but not for most of the music i listen to.
I tune (as bassaddict) my subs always to stay below 30hz on F3, and 29.9Hz is enough (lower is no issue). Higher up i'm missing a lot of info of the music i listen to (like in modern reggae, dub, jungle, oldskool dubstep, UK garage, hiphop, grime). For rock and mainstream (white) pop, 40 or even 50Hz is low enough, but not for most of the music i listen to.
There is a theory that exposure to 40 Hz sound treats Alzheimers dementia and Parkinsons Disease.*
Good vibrations: using sound to treat disease
B.
* I kind of figured that would get a lot of attention on this forum, eh; BMW motorcycle forums are full of aging men too
Good vibrations: using sound to treat disease
B.
* I kind of figured that would get a lot of attention on this forum, eh; BMW motorcycle forums are full of aging men too
Actually test vinyl was made from several manufacturers with square waves carved by the cutting machine, and I own an organ music vinyl with waves of 16 hertz. (direct cut)
The difficulty of a square wave is to reproduce it by the cartridge, the best ones make it look like a triangle on the oscilloscope.
Beyond that it does not make much sense to do it, because there is nothing audible there, it can be done, I have even seen the photograph of it in a forum. I think it was Vinyl Engine, but I could not find it, of course it was something exceptional ....
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