Bass only when I stand up…


Weird experience.

Wired up my system and sit down in my office chair. The bass disappeared. Stand up, and alakazam, the bass is back full and wonderful. It’s like swimming in the sea, there are horizontal layers of different temperatures. Quite distinct.

Ok, system info:

Speakers - PMC MB2SE

Power amp - Marantz 8807

Preamp - Marantz 8005

Sources - Pioneer LX800 or N70ae

Room - carpeted, 4.27x5.5x2.75m, acoustic insulated plasterboard and timber frame

Shape? Left side where door is, has duct risers that create 800mm boxes either side of the door. I’ve tried attaching a photo but didn’t work. Try here: link

Speakers placed 600mm out from the 4.27 wall, with the opposite wall being a library and office desk.

Tried? Raising front and rear speaker stands 1” to point speakers up or down slightly with no effect.

I welcome ideas 💡 yet realize there are constraints here too.

johnread57

Showing 1 response by mijostyn

@elliottbnewcombjr is on the right track but I would do it by putting the speakers on dollies to move around and when you find a better location (if there is one) put them back down on the spikes. 

As you discovered rooms can develop nodal behavior both horizontally and vertically. This is a function of your room, not your speakers. Absorbing bass is very difficult. Most room treatments that "absorb bass" do not work and moving a wall, ceiling or floor is not in the cards. I usually tell people to move their listening position to a place where they like the balance but you have a vertical problem. Still, moving your listening position you might find a better balance. Moving it up would be a sure cure but aesthetically challenged. 

Next is digital "room control" which is really speaker control. It EQs your system to be more balance anywhere you place the measurement microphone. In your case it would boost the bass at the frequencies that are down. The problem with this is that it requires a lot of power and can stress many loudspeakers increasing distortion. The best option is subwoofers. These take the load off the main system and if you use multiple subwoofers you might be able to control, even extinguish the nodes in your room. The best processors combine digital bass management with room control and digital EQ. These made by Trinnov, DEQX, Anthem, Legacy and MiniDSP. I personally prefer the new DEQX design which also includes a 4 way digital crossover. They also make the same unit without the crossover for less adventurous audiophiles.

Next and last is to set your system up in a different room. I have background music throughout the house but I do all my serious listening in a room designed for it. The room you are in now might only be useful for back ground music. 

Good luck, this can be a very frustrating problem and be careful. The industry is more than willing to sell you a bunch of junk that does not work.