Musical subwoofer - What does that mean to you?

pjdami

Okay. So you hear this term all of the time "that is a musical subwoofer." What exactly does this mean to you or your experiences?

Does this mean a non-boomy uncolored bass response? The ability to blend well with one's main speakers seemlessly? The ability to play down to 20 hz cleanly with low distortion? Finesse and pace? Can it keep up with the mains and not lag behind?

Someone asked me yesterday if my new sub had personality. Bass has personality? How? It's easy for me to differentiate personality with floorstanding speakers. i.e. midrange is silky smooth, highs are detailed but not overly harsh, etc. How would you define good musical bass then? An electric bass guitar having the natural reverberation and tone as if it were in the room with you? Same for a bass kick drum.

Does a musical subwoofer enhance the soundstage and imaging of the mains?

I'm not an audiophile nor do I claim to be. Enthusiast yes with a thirst to learn more. Let's be civil about this discussion and not put Brand X is better than Brand Y da da da. It's okay to make a reference to a particular brand and your experience with it but let's keep it at that.

I want to know what makes bass musical for you. How would you audition a subwoofer? What would you listen for?

You guys rock as far as audio knowlege goes and some of you even play instruments or are in bands.

Remember, let's keep this civil and non-offending. Been a long time since we had a HOS thread (maybe a record?) You guys rock and I want to hear it.

Paul

edit for typo. we need spell checker!

shack

Some have said there is really no such thing as "FAST" bass that seems to be the standard for "MUSICAL" bass. It depends on the slope, box size, port size, woofer travel, etc... There are others that have the technical explanations much better than I.

For me, the subs for music do not necessarily have to reach subsonic depths. Yes, I have a Bach organ CD that digs pretty deep, but that is the exception rather than the norm. I want bass that is faithful to the sound it is reproducing. I don't care how low or loud it is... if it doesn't sound like a bass guitar or a bass drum...then it is not doing the job! I want to hear the bass string resonate or the piano strings vibrate at the lowest octave. When my sub is working right for music, the only way I know it is actually working is when:

1) I can see the green light on the back of the sub

2) I see the woofer moving

3) I turn it off and notice the depth is gone

Blending and adding that subtle depth is "musical" for me. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP just doesn't cut it. I really don't care if I "feel" the bass or not...that is much more a function for HT duty. I do like to get the "feel" that a kick drum is right in front of you but I don't need rumble. For whatever the reason I have found that a good sealed sub works best for me in a primary music setup. I know subwoofer technoigy has come a long way and ported subs may perform just as well...but I'll stick with the sealed version.

polkatese

Originally posted by pjdami
Does this mean a non-boomy uncolored bass response? The ability to blend well with one's main speakers seemlessly?

An electric bass guitar having the natural reverberation and tone as if it were in the room with you? Same for a bass kick drum.


Paul

Your quote above is my criteria on sub's musicality, of course it's kinda subjective, but I am sticking to it

Dr. Spec

The "musicality" of a subwoofer is dominated by several factors not related to the subwoofer at all (or related incidentally). The room, the listening position, the location of the sub, the LPF and HPF used, the phase setting, and the calibration.

From a group delay and step response (overhang or bass ring at system resonance) standpoint, a sealed sub will in theory have an advantage over a vented sub, but whether or not this measurable but tiny advantage is actually audible is very questionable. A PR'd subwoofer will have an even worse GD and step response than a vented sub, and there are many fine sounding and accurate PR subs on the market.

It's important to consider the length of sound waves in this context and how that relates to their decay in a typical room. A 20 Hz sound wave is about 55 ft long. The longer the sound wave, the more time it is going to take to decay. This longer decay time is often interpreted as "slow bass" simply because the bass doesn't "snap" to a sudden stop (as it may with a subwoofer that rolls off in the 32 Hz range). It isn't a coincidence that the majority of subwoofers that claim to be “tight/musical” are small/moderate sized sealed designs. If you look for objective performance data on these units, you'll notice there is one definite trend - they all tend to have a frequency response which rolls off in the 32-35 Hz range.

That leaves you with frequency response anomalies and harmonic distortion (side band) products. Clearly the subwoofer which has a slight emphasis in the 50-80 Hz region will be the one easier to track for a given bass line. Also, the subwoofer which produces a higher harmonic distortion will create easy to localize and follow pitch harmonics of the fundamental.

Remember, harmonic distortion is not necessarily bad sounding; it is simply the creation of harmonics (orders) of the frequency being played due to non-pistonic cone behavior. So a bass line with a 60 Hz fundamental may have audible and easy to follow distortion harmonics at 120 Hz, 180 Hz, 240 Hz, etc.

In the end, the subwoofer which has an earlier roll-off, higher THD, and an emphasis in the 50-80 Hz region, will often be the subwoofer which is easier to follow and characterized as more "musical".

So ultimately, the more accurate reproduction of the audio signal may NOT be what the listener prefers. I'm not trying to sway you one way or the other, just explaining WHY someone might prefer one sub over another, even if it measures and tests out to be inferior.

If you purchase a subwoofer that you know is objectively better than whatever you currently own in all measureable performance parameters, and it sounds bad/funny/non-musical in comparison, I suggest you allow your ears to become accustomed to the "new" sound and keep reminding yourself you are listening to more accurate bass. Over time, the better sub might win you over. :-)

Doc