Not replying for cowanaudio, just myself 
I have four systems, my main system has open baffle bass and sounds way better than other systems with closed box woofers. Needs more attention, but it yields cleaner bass to my ears. All systems are eq flat with ultracurve, so its not due to different response.
I have four systems, my main system has open baffle bass and sounds way better than other systems with closed box woofers. Needs more attention, but it yields cleaner bass to my ears. All systems are eq flat with ultracurve, so its not due to different response.
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Speculating about near-field open baffle bass design possibilities, how about going very near:
Use: single seated person listening to music (no movie infrasound needed) using eg ESL, planar or OB mains and needing bass reinforcement with the dipole drop off under 80Hz
Design:
a. mono woofer set up in a modified H-frame/U-frame or naked and attached to, or placed to the rear of the chair
b. woofer is behind the listener and below seat and shoulder height, so there are no direct reflections from the main speakers in front. Very close to the ears for higher local SPL with low displacement and low HD.
c. crossover at 80Hz so its really hard to localize - digital crossover for achieving the best crossover and time delay.
d. angled up at about 45degrees so the velocity wave directly reaches both ears simultaneous but also wraps around the torso for a body sense of bass
e. nulls go out to the sides so less early side wall reflections
f. Forward wave gor forward and up to bounce off the ceiling for dissipation
e. rear wave ideally bounces off floor space behind the chair with less early rear wall reflection but might need dissipation and absorption
Has anyone tried this?
What are the foreseeable issues?
It would be great if someone has the gear needed sitting in the workshop and quickly tries it eg with a naked woofer.
Use: single seated person listening to music (no movie infrasound needed) using eg ESL, planar or OB mains and needing bass reinforcement with the dipole drop off under 80Hz
Design:
a. mono woofer set up in a modified H-frame/U-frame or naked and attached to, or placed to the rear of the chair
b. woofer is behind the listener and below seat and shoulder height, so there are no direct reflections from the main speakers in front. Very close to the ears for higher local SPL with low displacement and low HD.
c. crossover at 80Hz so its really hard to localize - digital crossover for achieving the best crossover and time delay.
d. angled up at about 45degrees so the velocity wave directly reaches both ears simultaneous but also wraps around the torso for a body sense of bass
e. nulls go out to the sides so less early side wall reflections
f. Forward wave gor forward and up to bounce off the ceiling for dissipation
e. rear wave ideally bounces off floor space behind the chair with less early rear wall reflection but might need dissipation and absorption
Has anyone tried this?
What are the foreseeable issues?
It would be great if someone has the gear needed sitting in the workshop and quickly tries it eg with a naked woofer.
Thankyou. My wife and I have a small window of opportunity to travel while our ageing parents are still well and we don't yet have grand children. Many people do the back packing thing in their early 20's, we are doing it in our early 50's.
OB/dipole bass sounds and feels quite different to the bass that comes out of other speakers. Bass reflex speakers sound slow and boomy to me now. Room resonances, particularly the most annoying floor/ceiling mode, are greatly reduced. Move the OB subwoofer right next to the listening position and the room has essentially no impact on the bass.