Quote:
Originally Posted by M Code
IMHO..
A good starting point would be to check with the loudspeaker manufacturer..
Then go from there..
Too often..
Speaker and room problems are compensated for by the bass manager, which is the not the purpose of it..
Tweaking the bass manager for x-over point, level and/or slope may seem to minimize an audible issue but the real solution is to use an EQ system that has enough intelligence and resolution, and/or the adjustment of certain room factors... including loudspeaker position and listener seat.. |
That is, of course, nonsense. First, getting to somebody at most loudspeaker manufacturers (especially the big ones) who actually knows anything is well nigh impossible. Second, EQ is the band-aid, not doing things right in the first place. Though in truth in most circumstances BOTH are required because doing it truly right is either physically or aesthetically impossible. Still, anyone who cares about music knows that EQ is an evil, albeit a necessary one, that should be used in moderation and only when other options that actually deal with the problem rather than electronically attempting to hide it have been exhausted.
Adjusting for room issues in the upper bass is IMO the
only reason to bother with a separate subwoofer at all, as opposed to simply buying mains with appropriate volume displacement and F3 to match one's sonic and musical tastes. (Disclaimer: I care only about stereo/multichannel music, and most of the movies I can stand to watch look/sound just as good in mono as in 7.1. People who like to watch thinks fake blow up have a second rationale for wanting a subwoofer.)
For example, in my room with L/R speakers placed for optimum spectral balance in from the midbass up (about 3.5' from any the back walls, well in from the sides, and "overtoed" or toed-in about 50deg to take advantage of the rare constant directivity through the crossover region provided by my speakers) I get into serious room issues at 60Hz. However, if I steeply filter the bass out of the mains (4th order slope) and add four subwoofers spaced across the front wall, that's largely taken care of without EQ. True, there are some other issues down lower, and very few rooms including mine would not benefit greatly from something like a Behringer Feedback Destroyer competently employed, but in my case a HUGE problem that would require more than 20dB of EQ at 50Hz at the listening position (and 8dB of EQ in the opposite direction at 50Hz if you move six feet to the left - what kind of electronic EQ could provide for both positions!) is simply gone because of competent system design and placement, with no external processing required.
