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 2 responses by shadorne

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...low growl vibrating the rib cage

What you seek is expensive. It will also be big and ugly rather than a gorgeous piece of fashionable furntiure. Furthermoree, most people wish to remain friendly with neighbours! These are the reasons it is not widely available from your local Hi-Fi dealer.

Bose acoustimass is an early example of how low cost bass from a 4th order compound band pass design has become acceptable to many consumers and proved that aesthetic considerations dominate consumer choices (not vibrating rib cages).

Today, given the lack of marketed designs to the contrary, many feel that ported designs offer a correct and accurate bass sound...acoustimass may be at one extreme but you get the idea. (Acoustimass are great value for what they do and hence their success)

What you seek requires stupendous levels of undistorted energy around 20 Hz...unfortunately it is expensive to create serious amounts of ultra LF without filling the 60 to 120 Hz region with ugly harmonics; excessive harmonics quickly result in an overly dominating bass to the ears (you can barely hear 20Hz but you can readily hear 120 Hz, indeed your ears are some 38 decibels more sensitive at 80 Hz than at 20 Hz).

This is why rock concerts/night clubs are often the place to feel the music...they can afford the professional loud speaker systems that you crave....systems that produce 20 Hz without tons of unwanted harmonics in the mid bass.

My advice....either;

1) find an old second hand large studio main monitor (Tannoy, Altec, Genelec, Westlake, PMC, ATC, Meyer etc.)...you can probably get something for $5k second hand that you will also be able to feel in the rib cage (shipping could be a major hurdle).

2) look for several high quality subs to couple with smaller two channel speakers (you probably need at least a couple of 15" woofers driven by 1000 watts each for vibrating the rib cage...again this is not cheap and achieving synergy may not necessarily be easy)

Good luck.
For those bass lovers...try Black Eyed Peas, "They Don't want Music" with James Brown....it is certainly fun, even if it is a bit over compressed (like most modern pop CD's). It will certainly test your room RT and driver damping, as it has some very closely spaced bass notes.

For those mid range lovers, I hear you and agree....I would never trade good mid range for bass that clouds the lower mids with third order harmonic distortion.

Quality before quantity...