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A warning to all about HUGE Subwoofers

So I just bought a Velodyne HGS18 yesterday and its amazingly awesome. Enough so that I know that it can crack concrete and after playing with it a while i genuinely have realized this has the potential if unleashed to destroy a house.

I decided to do a test tone to see how it did and at 10HZ this thing will rattle your whole house (I listen to rap amongst other things, I'm no stranger to playing loud bass)and that is with very little volume. Be careful when you look at subs in accordance to your building.

I always thought the subs that had that potential were awesome and amazing which they are (at least this one) However it isnt fun be afraid to turn up your sub for fear of tearing down your walls. It wasnt that bad but it seems that in 2 seconds or less if its going to loud and low it could do some damage. I can only imagine what it would have done my volume was any higher or if i let it go without being next to the volume switch.

On a side note hearing frequencies that low is an amazing improvement and far better than I had anticipated
128x128systembuilder
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Kurt tank,
I believe that the lowest frequencies you can get from upright double-bass and tum-tum if recorded with no overdubbing and filtering.
kurt_tank
1,189 posts
 
I ask, because when I looked at this website - see below, (and this is pretty much in accordance with my understanding), that the frequency response of all acoustic instruments is much higher than the 10 Hz frequency response mentioned in the original post.
(Barring organs of course, which is not used too often in rap music, at least not the last time I heard it.) Even an electric bass guitar does not go much lower than 40 Hz.
And only the really big bass drums only go down to about 20 Hz, (and those are typically only used in large symphonies, not rap bands).

Musical Instruments Frequency Response

Again, I was just curious. The only thing I can figure out is that they are using synthesizers to produce the artificial drum sounds that reach as low as 10 Hz. In which case, what do they do in concert? (Not that I would ever go to a rap concert, but again, just curious.)

(FYI, I can see why one needs a subwoofer for Home Theater, as there are explosions and such which can be below 10 Hz, (and of course the thrill of being hit in the chest with a big bass wave is cool). And yes, I have one for my HT too.
But for most music, it seems going down below 20 Hz is overkill. (Heck, maybe anything below 30 Hz is overkill for most music.) And yes, I have speakers that are probably somewhat overkill in the bass range myself, (EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers), but they are not designed to go down to 10 Hz.)

Just thinking out loud.
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,973 posts
 
The larger the subwoofer or bass system the less it will cause issues with peaks and nulls or as you would say vibration in room walls furnishings.
bifwynne
2,206 posts
 
Great post Kurt. Your post and the attached chart corroborate my empirical findings when I hooked up my impedance buffer. I also agree that it is curious what is causing the low frequency SPL in Systembuilder's woofer. As you speculate, maybe its synthesizers???
bizango1
276 posts
 
The old "acoustic instruments only go down to" statements always show listeners' musical tastes and biases. Am I the only one who likes Aphex Twin, William Orbit, and other electronica artists? They are lucky to not be hindered by the limitations of acoustic instruments in their artistic endeavors. Anybody wanna challenge the artistry of electronica? I am listening to Rachel Podger playing Bach Violin Concertos and my subs aren't hurting a thing. I may switch to Four Tet in a little while and I'll be glad I have the subs so I can hear all they intended me to hear.
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