How low (in frequency) should a subwoofer go?

[rwnano]

Many home theatre subwoofers only go down to like 50 Hz or 60 Hz.

 

[Phani24]

Many home theatre subwoofers only go down to like 50 Hz or 60 Hz.

But specs say differently. How can we check

 

[liverpool_for_life]

Many home theatre subwoofers only go down to like 50 Hz or 60 Hz.

Not true. To answer the question posed, you'd want (spec'ed) extension down to at least 20 Hz. Even lower extension in-room adds significantly to the HT experience.

 

[spirovious]

Many Tower speakers can output 40hz or even 36hz depending on driver size. Subwoofer is supposed to dig deeper. Sub with 10in or or larger driver will go much deeper.

 

[harryneopotter]

Heck some bookshelves go till mid/late 30s.

 

[availlyrics]

Room size, phase alignment and listening position (should be 12' & beyond) is more critical for lower freq. , thus larger room will give a better sub-bass response.

Many home theatre subwoofers only go down to like 50 Hz or 60 Hz.

HT manufacturering co. are aware of the fact that at current real estate prices , its a rare occurance that a typical HT will be ever placed in any large listening room. Real subs starts around 40 Hz and go down from there.

 

[Nitin K]

For frequencies you cannot hear, it will be below 20 hz. Few movies will have these frequencies and the subs that go down to those frequencies without distortion will be expensive.
Most of the movies have mid bass from around 30 hz to approx 70 hz like gunshots, door slams which are actually very enjoyable. The room also affects how low the sub goes and it helps sometimes.
There are few subs that do both well and would be quite expensive.

JTR Captivator RS1 — JTR Speakers

www.jtrspeakers.com

 

[Hari Iyer]

But specs say differently. How can we check

You have no option than believing the specs because it'd very difficult to measure anything below 300hz because your room will dominate the measured results. Unless you have an anechoic room such low frequency measurements are prone to error. There will be +6dB gain only by the room below 100hz. Room modes and ground plane measurements can create havoc by comb filtering. Hence it's best to setup low frequency by listening than measuring. Applying any EQ or DSP for LF can have it's own problems as that setting would apply to a very narrow location in your room. Also doing room treatment may be very expensive endeavors which nay not guarantee success.

The best approach I have tried following after many trial and error has been,
- avoid subwoofers as much as possible. Even if you want to go for a sub - my suggestion will be for a H-frame OB subwoofer or a sealed subwoofer
- avoid ported enclosure if possible as they can sound one note bass and could boom because of broad band high Q. Also port resonance / noise is an issue.
- sealed box are encouraging IME as they have a gentle LF roll-off if the box Q is low. This can translate to a more realistic and tight bass though you may not get that chest thumping deep one note bass which anyway is not natural

 

[arj]

With RELS i have measured up to 20 hz. below 50 the sound starts getting tactile and below 20 you hear through your body but the higher harmonics are heard through the ear.

While a 100 hz string can be reproduced, it has a 50 hz and 25 hz sub harmonic as well ..as it does a 200 and 400. and it is all these frequencies together that give the sound signature.

In the end it does depend on the type of music you listen to..and if you can get up to 30-35 at -3db overall you should be able to enjoy 90% of all music..but speaker/Sub specs are not standardized hence you cannot go by published specs

 

[Hari Iyer]

With RELS i have measured up to 20 hz. below 50 the sound starts getting tactile and below 20 you hear through your body but the higher harmonics are heard through the ear.

While a 100 hz string can be reproduced, it has a 50 hz and 25 hz sub harmonic as well ..as it does a 200 and 400. and it is all these frequencies together that give the sound signature.

In the end it does depend on the type of music you listen to..and if you can get up to 30-35 at -3db overall you should be able to enjoy 90% of all music..but speaker/Sub specs are not standardized hence you cannot go by published specs

How do you measure 20hz in a listening room? Was the mic almost touching the woofer cone? Wondering

 

[hardcore_gamer99]

Many home theatre subwoofers only go down to like 50 Hz or 60 Hz.

my pb 2000 pro starts sounding at 20hz in this video you can also check. check only 20 to 200hz only and stop video
youtube
keep subwoofer level 60%

 

[arj]

How do you measure 20hz in a listening room? Was the mic almost touching the woofer cone? Wondering

you need not use a Mic ..just use test tones of specific frequencies and see if you can hear/feel it

 

[Hari Iyer]

you need not use a Mic ..just use test tones of specific frequencies and see if you can hear/feel it

In REW you have a sound generator from DC to 22khz for almost all type of wave forms.

 

[DB1989]

How do you measure 20hz in a listening room? Was the mic almost touching the woofer cone? Wondering

If the question is general and not specific to ARJ, the ideal way to measure whether your speakers and/or your subwoofer is producing 20hz is to measure at the MLP.

In my earlier room, my RELs were digging down to 8hz @-2db at> 90db with room gain at my MLP. In the current room, it's a sedate 27hz at -2b.

 

[arj]

In REW you have a sound generator from DC to 22khz for almost all type of wave forms.

i just play test tones on spotify. also have a CD with them but these days not needed.
I dont have REW etc so this works easiest and I just map the Decibel levels