Just something I think we should clear up when applying generalizations like “frequencies below 80 Hz are non-directional” which like many generalizations is over simplified. They are directional. AFAIK all waves propagating through a medium are directional. The question is whether or not one can perceive them in a specific situation. I’ve been knocked down in the direction of travel by the shock (sound) wave of a tank main gun firing. I’ve watched a seismic wave travel from one end of a long hallway to another in a building. Almost daily I feel the thump on my chest each time an engine on my aircraft lights off. If I’m facing away from the aircraft I feel the thump on my back.

There are many factors that influence out ability to perceive the directionality of bass like: limitations of our senses (the lower the frequency the harder to locate), personal perception (some people locate bass easier than others), intensity of the sound (more intense sounds are easier to locate), enclosed space (reflected sound waves mask the direction of sounds depending on their frequency and the size of the room), distance from source (effects intensity but also can allow the sound to reach us before reflections effect it), direction of source (sounds coming from the expected direction “usually the front” don’t stand out as much as sounds coming from unexpected directions) and I‘m probably missing some.

Telling someone to set all there speakers to small and cross them at 80 may be a good starting point, and for the average person it might also be a good ending point. However, I submit that most people posting in or even lurking around forums like this want to know more about and get something more out their system than just the average person. I believe we do them a disservice when giving canned answers that either get repeated often enough that they become gospel or are foisted on us by entities like THX, Dolby and Audyssey who all have their own reasons for preferring particular settings but have no knowledge of the situation under which the equipment is being used.


3M80 2M22 6QS8 2M2 1EP500 Sony BDP-S590 Panny-7000 Onkyo-3007 Carada-134 Xbox Buttkicker AS-EQ1