AudiogoN Forums: 50hz deep enough?

50hz deep enough?

I am looking at getting some new speakers and I am leaning toward a few differently bookshelf's.

However some of them only go down to 50hz.

Is this deep enough for music only? I am not a bass junkie. I just want to be true to the music. I know that there is information in the music I will be missing. However with a speaker starting to drop off at 50hz will I still be able to follow the rhythm of a bass guitar and large drums?

With my current set up I get LOTS of bass. My speakers are rated 34Hz +/- 3dB. Once I added my line conditioner and rega planet I found my bass really took a step up. or a step deeper I should say. Thus why I am wondering if a smaller monitor my be acceptable.

If you deem 50 Hz not deep enough, what would you consider minimum to be enjoyable and due justice to the music. I listen to everything except for Rap and country. I like rock, bluegrass, jazz, classical, vocal etc.... even metal on occasion.

Cheers.

Nickway (System | Threads | Answers | This Thread)

08-24-04

Responses (1-27 of 27)

Click title to read one, or click date to read all below it.

08-24-04 No bookshelf speaker is flat to 50 hz, no matter what their ... Bomarc

08-24-04 There are people who are bass junkies that buy speakers that ... Nrchy

08-24-04 How big is your room? Sidssp

08-24-04 Thanks guys. the two speakers i am considering are: a used ... Nickway

08-24-04 My room is 10 x 12 currently. however once i have a child (n ... Nickway

08-24-04 I agree with nrchy's statement: "there are people who a ... Stehno

08-24-04 It's really a question only you can answer. i will say your ... Hammy

08-24-04 If your current speakers are paradigm reference studio 40s, ... Bomarc

08-24-04 Just noticed your post about room sizes. well, that explains ... Bomarc

08-24-04 I have a very elaborate subwoofer system that measures flat ... Eldartford

08-24-04 It depends on the speaker, the amplifier, the cables, the ro ... Key_metric

08-24-04 I agree with key metric on the stands. will make (if they a ... Warrenh

08-24-04 One rule i try to keep for upgrades is to not lose something ... Honest1

08-25-04 For a small room like yours, the model 1's will sound very n ... Rbstehno

08-25-04 Nickway: i ignore numbers key metric makes a lot of sense. t ... Mechans

08-25-04: Bomarc
I want to correct a misimpression that Rbstehno seems to have taken away from my (and perhaps other) posts: Bookshelf speakers can be quite apppropriate for larger rooms. But no speaker will give you as much bass in a large room as in a small one. So a speaker that gives you adequate bass in a small room might not satisfy in a larger one.

Mechans makes a good point about how low "low bass" is. Most pop music (even heavy metal) has little or nothing in the bottom octave, below 40 Hz. A standard electric bass only goes down to 42 Hz. (Acoustics, depending on size, may reach as low as 32 Hz, I believe.)

A bookshelf speaker that starts rolling off at 80 Hz is still going to output substantial energy an octave lower than that. With room reinforcement, you aren't going to miss much, especially in a small space. Plus, your brain hears the second harmonics, an octave up, and tends to fill in the missing information anyway.
Bomarc (Threads | Answers | This Thread)

08-25-04 Thanks for all of your guys responses. i do agree with what ... Nickway

08-25-04 Also i should add the generally i listen between 80-90db and ... Nickway

08-25-04 I would buy the one with better midrange every time, especia ... Sidssp

08-25-04 I should add the by far the music i listen to most is rock. ... Nickway

08-25-04 I must chime in as someone who has always owned monitors...e ... Phasecorrect

08-26-04 I'll chime in as a heavy metal listener. you can add a good ... Aroc

08-26-04 Biro speakers, the best for the $ George3763

08-28-04 Honest1 - you can't change the laws of physics. it is true. ... Hammy

08-31-04 Bomarc, i don't have a misimpression about your thread or an ... Rbstehno

08-31-04 Tiny speaker can indeed reproduce very low frequencies: even ... Eldartford

09-01-04 Rbstehno: i agree that the best (and probably only) way to k ... Bomarc