Subwoofer tuning; How much music is actually under 80 Hz?

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Originally Posted by Midway

I think my subwoofer is adding depth and impact but I’ve put what I thought were fairly bass heavy songs on, opened the trunk, put my ear next to the subwoofer and don’t really hear that much.

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The wavelength of an 80hz sound is about 14 feet...you're not going to hear it with your head right up against the sub. You'd do better to stick your head near the windshield to hear bass notes. Distance, cabin gain, and cancellation all factor into it.

http://www.soundoctor.com/freq.htm

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I can turn the level control up and it will increase the subwoofer volume but I’m not sure that is a good thing. I don’t want that muddy, overbearing subwoofer sound again.

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You could have a situation where the sub in back is being canceled out by the under-seat speaker. Like James said, turn one of them off and see if your bass response improves.

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I just don’t think there is that much content in typical music under 80 Hz, assuming that is where my sub is crossed over at. I’ve searched for songs that have more content in that range for testing and showcasing a subwoofer but the music I typically listen to just may not have much under 80 Hz. It could also be as much feeling as hearing the lower notes.

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Everyone's hearing is different, and the cutoff frequency from "sound" to "feeling" is subjective, but it's a shame to write off lower frequencies just because you can't "hear" them.

Having said that, if you don't have system that capable of reproducing the notes, the whole thing's a moot point.

https://www.klipsch.com/blog/5-aweso...-new-subwoofer

Flac , USB , CD's . . . Anything but MP3s .!

Signal to rear sub in trunk is in question !

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Originally Posted by Holmz

No arguement here.

Just we read a lot about 60 or 80 Hz HPF, and 35-40 Hz tuning where some unloading is going to happen somewhere below that... and we have a bit over one decade.
or
We read that the low frequency really does not matter... and if so, then a 35/40 Hz SSF would not be heard... which we both think would be heard.

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Unloading occurs if sub's ssf is lower than tuned vent. [Clacking heard as subwoofer's voice coil hits rear plate , repeatedly]. LOW pass needs to set anywhere from 125 hertz ( jamaican's) or 80 hz and lower for most of us.
I.E. octave from 80 going down in hertz , brings us to 40 hz , continuing down . .. half of 40 is 20 hertz { two octaves }.

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Originally Posted by Queef

Unloading occurs if sub's ssf is lower than tuned vent. [Clacking heard as subwoofer's voice coil hits rear plate , repeatedly]. LOW pass needs to set anywhere from 125 hertz ( jamaican's) or 80 hz and lower for most of us.
I.E. octave from 80 going down in hertz , brings us to 40 hz , continuing down . .. half of 40 is 20 hertz { two octaves }.

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Understood.
wheni see things like 40 port freq, then I assume that one would not want much during the sub under 40 Hz.

i have done some FFTs of music files, but do not have a good feel for what content exists for which music, other than the trite organ and chamber music has low notes...

When the cannons in 'Tchaikovsy' 1812 overture , how does it sound ?

I know how I like it to sound ! [ Like cannons ].

https://youtu.be/VbxgYlcNxE8

I łike cannon sounds when they are firing away.

When the cutoff between hearing and feeling the sub happens you want enough woofer to pressurize the cabin. Unfortunately unless you're going IB this can take up more space than most are willing to give up. You could get high excursion heavy cone subs that only need a tiny sealed box and throw as much power as you can at them to pressurize the cabin but even that has its own set of problems (car electrical mostly). As for the mention of setting an ssf to 35-40hz like one mentioned that just seems silly to me. From what I've seen only junky prefab boxes (and loaded Kicker sub boxes because of their own beliefs on content below 40hz) are tuned at 40 or above. I believe the general rule is 7hz below tuning for a ssf. To be honest I've never used a ssf and that was even when I had a pair of first generation Fi x10's in .7 each tuned to 35hz and "overpowered". They took it fine and sounded great and I think I still know where they are and who has them if I ever want them back.

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Originally Posted by Hillbilly SQ

When the cutoff between hearing and feeling the sub happens you want enough woofer to pressurize the cabin. Unfortunately unless you're going IB this can take up more space than most are willing to give up. You could get high excursion heavy cone subs that only need a tiny sealed box and throw as much power as you can at them to pressurize the cabin but even that has its own set of problems (car electrical mostly). As for the mention of setting an ssf to 35-40hz like one mentioned that just seems silly to me. From what I've seen only junky prefab boxes (and loaded Kicker sub boxes because of their own beliefs on content below 40hz) are tuned at 40 or above. I believe the general rule is 7hz below tuning for a ssf. To be honest I've never used a ssf and that was even when I had a pair of first generation Fi x10's in .7 each tuned to 35hz and "overpowered". They took it fine and sounded great and I think I still know where they are and who has them if I ever want them back.

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This is kinda the point...
The SSF and/or 40Hz tuning are in fact silly.

i am not sure if one should even use a sub if they say that 40 Hz is somewhat close to 60 or 80..., and they are only loosing ~40Hz...
(which seems a bit silly too)

I have a VERY modest subwoofer in my 2015 F150 that is (2) Dayton Audio 6.5" subs in a ported enclosure tuned to ~36hz. It can handle about 200w before I start making the subs hurt themselves. It is one of those setups where you can't locate the sub, or even tell it is playing. Until you turn it down or off. Then you realize just how much is down there, especially in electronic stuff like Astrix, Electric Universe, etc. They are crossed at 75hz with a 30hz ss filter.

It is fun to show people the sub AFTER they listen to the music.