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Shouldn't the Bass be felt? Duh

I am always a little surprised and disappointed when I hear a system that is missing the proper level of bass. What is wrong with these people? Why is a good bass so often overlooked? I grew up in the 60's and went to many good concerts,,, Hendrix twice, Creedence,Airplane etc.
The bass was always strong, and powerful and it didnt screw up your ears. The best past was the physical feeling of that low growl vibrating the rib cage...ahhhhh.
I am in the process of re-establishing my 2 channel system and that is really one of the goals...lots of strong, clean tight bass. To me it really makes the difference in having a satisfying realistic musical experience. I still wonder why a lot of people don't seem to get that?
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Showing 3 responses by eldartford

eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Some music simply has no low bass. When such music is played on a system with great LF extension it may not sound as good as when played on a system with less bass. This is because all recordings have some extreme LF noise, and if there is no LF music to mask it the noise can be annoying. Also, the extraneous LF signal has an adverse effect on speakers that are reproducing the higher frequency music.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Basically I agree with Shadorne that multiple large drivers (in sealed enclosures) is the way to go. I have such a SW system installed as part of my house, and therefore no huge enclosures are visible. However, I must admit that I have heard some very impressive bass from the original Klipshorns (one horn-loaded 15" driver). Maybe it doesn't do down to 20Hz, but it will flap your trouser legs.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Jaybo...Point well taken that audiophiles, and store demos, usually focus on imaging, and that is best exhibited by small speakers of limited LF extension. I have come to realize that "superb imaging" with that female vocalist somehow levitated in space between the two speakers is a really synthetic (dare I say phony) phenomena. It depends on critical speaker placement and room treatment, and the listener immobilized at a "sweet spot". I know the effect well, but have become a bit tired of it. I much prefer a multichannel system, where sound sources can be actually placed around my room instead of being "projected" by some psycho acoustic trick.
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