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Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126485 02/04/06 11:31 AM
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Yup,....just re-read this entire thread, and can safely say:

You are not alone!!

Who?!

Anyone who has their speakers too close together(but some can't move them)and finds(when Momma's not watching)that moving the listening chair closer to the speakers helps bunches!

Those who use EQ(and sometimes even the dreaded "tone Control")to make things better!

And those who find that sending bass to both the sub and the mains gives that "punchy bass" between 60 and 80HZ that's missing otherwise! I get that satisfying "WHAM" that's localized up front, but with the sub located in the back when the system's set this way! The attack and sustain must go to the fronts only in these situations, and the bulk of the low tones to the sub in the back of the room, but the overall sound is well integrated and just about perfect!

So yup, for those of us without the ideal listening room architecture, with the wrong furnishings or floor coverings, without optimum speaker placement, or maybe even the "wrong" speakers; well,...the audio Gods have seen fit to give us those audiophile taboos: those tone and EQ controls; to at least get us out of sonic purgatory and a bit closer to....

Some folks may ask: "But now, you don't have an accurate reprentation of the input signal, how do you live with that?"

What works for me is to go from my current set-up to "Direct" mode and take a listen to the unaltered sound from the receiver. Now, until my ears get used to it, it sounds thin and unappetizing. Then, when I almost forget that I'm listening to this sound, I go back to "stereo" mode and get snacked with the modified audio. If it sounds too artificial, I can bring it back toward the "direct" signature. I've gone thru this cycle a number of times over the last few weeks and months until; like Goldilocks: It's "just right"

Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126486 02/04/06 04:51 PM
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Good point on DVE Alan as the tone is regarded as 10db too low when setting at 75db. I use other calibration discs and tones but DVE is widespread. I should have added if using DVE make the 10db adjustment or you will have the sub gain below the other speakers. Alternatively just use Avia. I don't recommend using a single tone because of possible problems with nodes depending on where the RS metre is place. Sweeps are better then just set at the average reading. Also I wouldn't bother with the calibration posted above until you've solved your bigger problem with the inadequate mains.


John
Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126487 02/05/06 02:45 AM
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cameron Offline OP
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Ok, I just watched the movie Serenity and let me restate that for movies my system is great. In fact I really can't imagine it sounding any better. The bass has huge impact and I can't tell at all that it is coming from the sub.

If movies were my main interest I would be completely satified, but music is my thing. I will try the sub crawl and all the other steps involved in getting the best bass but I gotta believe that what I am looking for just doesn't exist.

In some ways I wish I could go back 10 years to my college system. I had an old Pioneer pro logic receiver with 15" Cerwin Vega mains and used a graphic equalizer with a smiley face configuration. I usually listened in pro logic with the bass boost on and the bass and treble knobs turned all the way up (can you believe this?). To me it sounded great and the bass abolutely kicked my ass without a sub. My system sounded great to me until the day (about 6 years ago) I brought home some Grado headphones after doing some research online.

The problem is that I can never go back to that. Now that I have heard what good sound is like that kind of set up would sound horrible in the mids (or complete lack therof) and the highs. What I wish for is the bass of then combined with the rest from now and I know there is no way that can work.....





Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126488 02/05/06 05:28 AM
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Music is another matter. Some people listen in stereo with the mains only and shut off the sub completely. Many people run stereo subs with monitors. Others make no distinction between music and HT and leave the mains crossed to the sub. All are good configurations if set up properly with capable equipment. Better mains or a second sub may be the ticket if you tried the steps above and still can't get the bass response.


John
Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126489 02/07/06 09:46 AM
Joined: Apr 2003
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Just for kicks, I was listening to Bavarian polka music -- you know, oom-pah music -- and I decided to turn off the sub to compare the sound. The notes stayed the same, even for the oom-pahs, but the punch (both from the tuba and the kickdrum on the beat) was gone. And that's with a 100Hz cross-over. I suppose the occasional oom (n.b. the pah is usually higher in pitch) might have been down a few dB, but definitely it was the "feel" that was most missing. I have M3Ti mains and TN-1220HO sub.
--Martin

Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126490 02/07/06 02:33 PM
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I hope you were enjoying a large stein of märzen or other bavarian beer while enjoying your oom-pah band.

Re: What frequency is considered "punchy bass"?
#126491 02/08/06 08:17 AM
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Well, I got the CD in anticipation of hosting an Oktoberfest party at some point, and I love my lagers, but this time it was red wine. In a glass. With a stem. I'm in Sonoma County after all.

I was in the process of finally organizing my CDs, and while I was doing so I listened to various CDs on my present system for the first time. As a student I used to have an Akai ghettoblaster as my "mains" and a portable Sony Discman as a CD player. Obviously, what a difference a real stereo makes! Any music, even stuff I don't really want to listen to, it's just fascinating how it becomes interesting to listen to because of the new detail, the extended frequency range, etc. A bit like picking up some object with bare hands for the first time and marvelling at its texture?

--Martin

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