Re: Powered Subs

[Mech <mech@m3ch.net>]

At 1:05 PM -0700 1/1/08, Krispen Hartung wrote:
>
>So, the single Mackie powered sub I listed seemed like a good choice 
>in this case. Sure, I would love to save myself some money and buy 
>two lower end powered subs for $300 each, but then I am already at 
>$600, only $250 short of the big daddy Mackie sub which is a nice 
>piece of gear that will deliver low end for years and years.

One more consideration you might want to take into account.  From 
what I've observed on occasion, if you walk up to your average 
listener (non-musician, non-engineer) and tell them they can't locate 
the direction of the bass tones, they'll look at you funny and go 
"huh...?!?".  Then, once you explain to them in very simple and 
easily-understood terms that laboratories have asserted the human 
brain can't distinguish the direction of lower frequencies, you'll 
find that, for the most part, they won't then echo-locate that tonal 
range any longer.

My suspicion is that in the real world it is actually far easier to 
locate which side of the "stage" on which the bass is placed. 
Unfortunately, a lot of times we put a bit too much credence in what 
the lab results tell us what *should* be happening, rather than what 
our own ears tell us actually *is* happening.

And that difference in results between spatial imaging tests in the 
lab vs. the field may very well be because it is rarely that the bass 
component of the music is composed only of frequencies that can't 
easily be placed.  (Aside: ever try to echo locate a pure sine in a 
room at ANY given frequency?  Gets confusing fast, if you're not in a 
purely anechoic environment.)

Regardless, unless you're using a sub purely in its most technical 
form (as Per pointed out in an earlier conversation, the term 
"sub-woofer" should really apply to speakers handling only 
frequencies below about the 50-60 Hz range; otherwise, normal bass 
frequencies (~50-200 Hz) are handled by the woofer, not the 
sub-woofer), I'd argue that most bass can actually be echo-located 
rather easily, and perhaps it's worth investing in two "subs" rather 
than one.

If your current woofers are truly flat all the way down to ~40-50 Hz, 
then you could be good with a single sub.  Too often though, I've 
seen people (myself included) grab a sub merely to compensate for a 
lack of low end, and end up flattening any stereo imaging there might 
have been in the bass spectrum.

Of course, if the stereo spread for your environment doesn't matter, 
then this is a moot point.  Otherwise, you might take it as food for 
thought.

        --m.
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