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?
128x128blueskiespbd

Showing 1 response by pbb

I understand that bass divides the men from the boys speaker-wise. Should it be felt? Well depends. If you mean should it be felt at all times, then the answer is no. On the other hand, if you mean that when necessary should it be felt, then I resoundingly say yes. You seem to favour amplified music and use rock concerts as your baseline. Doing this will, in my opinion, inevitably lead to too much bass of the boomy variety. Since many people augment the bass with a sub and, therefore, have to adjust the level of the bass (leaving aside the cutoff point and slope) I think that you can, no matter how unnatural, get the type of bass you want with a sub, decently sized main speakers and enough power, bearing in my mind that the fundamentals of the lowest note of an electric bass are not near the sub woofer region. Doing this will take a strain off the main speakers' woofer(s) and the amplifier driving it (them) and provide cleaner bass in the frequencies that matter bass-wise in music. So, I think your question probably has more to do with the volume of the bass heard and how clean it is than with how very low it will go.