Someone explain human hearing of subbass......


I remember my old Pioneer receiver having a "loudness" switch, which basically emphasized the lowest frequencies when playing at low volumes. Is our hearing not as sensitive to subbass frequencies at low volume? If so, how do you equalize this? High end preamps have no equalizer, does this mean you necessarily will not get decent bass at low volume levels?
mythtrip

Showing 1 response by plato

Ezmeralda may have summed it up nicely, but can someone explain to me how a properly-designed amplifier rated flat to almost DC lacks bass???? Or is that not what you meant?

Also, to answer Mythtrip's question, in high-end systems set up for natural bass response at realistic playback levels, you are quite correct in assuming that at low playback volumes the bass will tend toward the anemic. That is what loudness circuits are attempting to correct. However, under real-world conditions due to acoustic doubling and cancellations in the low bass, these loudness circuits may improve the perceived bass balance but are certainly far from a perfect solution (and there usually no cheap and/or practical "perfect solutions").

Changing the speaker's location in the listening room by moving the speakers closer to room boundaries can do a lot to reinforce low bass and is normally a good approach... Though sometimes a compromise must be struck between the best imaging and the best bass balance. Personally, I like the flexibility that adding a good dedicated subwoofer system allows. Then you can leave your main speakers where they image best and dial in the bass to taste.