Another Bass discussion...

Paul, I could not agree more but, there are classy ways to do it and quite sloppy ways to do it. You can have very accurate bass and adjust it so that the visceral component is there without interfering with the mid bass.
People like nonoise who have little if anything below 40 Hz don't miss the bass because they can interpret the note from it's harmonics. They have no idea they are missing the fundamental. At the concert you are hearing/feeling the fundamental. To get this in a residential setting is not easy. It requires large drivers, 12" minimum IMHO and that is if you are using at least two, ideally 4 subwoofers. Then there is power. A lot of it. 500 watts is the minimum. I use 2000 watts/subwoofer. The small sealed enclosure subwoofers favored today require EQ to get them to go flat to 18 Hz. If you look at my system page find the screen shot of the frequency response of my subwoofers (each trace is actually a pair of subwoofers right and left) This is before correction. These are 12" drivers in 3 cubic foot enclosures which are pretty big. They still lose output as they go down. The computer corrects this so that they are up 5 dB at 20 Hz. You can see this in the basic target curve. This quadruples the power requirement at any given volume. 200 watts becomes 800 watts. I kick the bass up 5 dB at 20 Hz tapering to 0 dB at 100 Hz because in a residential setting this gives you that sensation of being at a live concert without corrupting the mid bass. Then I have independent volume control over the subwoofers so I can crank it another 3 dB for the Red Hot Chili Peppers:)  Without digital bass management it is very difficult if near impossible to integrate subwoofers at the state of the art. You can get reasonable close which is tough enough. Check out DEQX, The Anthem STR and the Trinnov Amethyst. 

In my experience integrating sub woofers with side speakers can be challenging and very frustrating, to get the setup to sound right.

In my last house I had to struggle putting 10 bass traps around the room to make the bass sound like it "belonged" with the side speakers; I probably could have used more traps, but my wife was already complaining about the look of my "padded cell".

I feel bass and clear one in my audio room... With tuba, cello, piano,organ, drums, gong, etc.... No need for a sub really and only 7 inches bass drivers, very  well embed tough....I feel the bass with my stomach only not with my feet....I dont listen to music essentially constructed with a continuously artificial sub-bass presence for sure....

I dont have the bass linked to volcanic eruption, heavy metal, deafeaning thunderstorm at your feet, or banging door rent owner asking me for my money....



:)

« Ron Carter is in my room or perhaps only in my head » - Groucho Marx

@mijostyn 

Damn. That must sound incredible. I can absolutely see how things can get sloppy in a hurry if you’re not careful. I’m in a condo so going to 4 subs is a little overkill in terms of both performance and aesthetics. I only have so much room for speakers and subs in my current living situation. Even with just two subs and playing around with placement I beloved I am able to achieve pretty good bass that you can feel without getting too sloppy (depending on the recording) unfortunately some recordings are mixed and mastered like trash so there’s not much that can be done in those situations. I’m a relatively new audiophile, well maybe that’s not true. I’ve always been an audiophile. But it’s only been a couple of years where I’ve really made an effort to understand and achieve “proper” stereo high fidelity. So much fun!!!

For a reference, the lowest note the standard 4-string bass (electric and acoustic) plays---the E string played "open"---is located at 41Hz. The fifth string on a 5-string (played open is a B note) makes a 31Hz wave. Some electronic keyboards play that low, and the mighty pipe organs with 32ft. pipes create a 16Hz wave. The resonant frequencies of large venues (such as cathedrals and concert halls) are also very, very low. You can hear the sound of those large spaces in well recorded Classical works if your speakers/subs play that low.