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Musical accuracy in subwoofers

I'm hoping some members who are more musically & technically knowledgeable can answer my questions about subs. While sub shopping, web research and sales people make referrence to subs with accurate timbre. The Linn & REL lines were reported to be more accurate than Sunfires in this respect. After playing my sub at a 45-48 hz. crossover without the main speakers, listening leaves me wondering how timbre ( at this low a crossover point) can be an attribute of a sub when most aspects of timbre are a product of higher frequencies. It seems that pitch accuracy, lack of bloat & "overhang," freedom from cabinet resonance, and the ability to tune crossover, volume, & phase accurately are paramount. But timbre?
photon46
pls1
432 posts
 
The distortion figures in a sub effect the timbre of the reproduction more than is often realized due to the Fletcher Munson loudness curves. For a simplfied example: a 30 Hz pure sine wave with 10% second harmonic distortion played at around 70 db SPL (think the fundamental from a double bass or contrabasson) will also produce an additional tone at 60 Hz at about 10 db down. However, at that frequency due to the Fletcher Munson effect, the harmonic will be percieved as equally loud as the fundamental which will seriously distort timbral perception. While the effect flattens out at louder volumes even 3% harmonic distortion can shift the perceived timbres of of lower bass instruments (assuming of course that the room distortions don't swamp the lower bass response).
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Its the timbre of the instrument being reproduced, I referred to, not the timbre a subwoofer might have. If the sub has timbre, a sound of its own, it distorts and you will never get the timbre of the instrument reproduced right. You have to have a lot of intimate experience with live music to test subs this way, i.e. to see if it reproduces the timbre of differet instruments properly. If you don't have this experience, Esmeralda is right, stick to maths. By the way, its necessarz to develop a language to describe musical experience. No maths will tell you, how a rig will sound.
pls1
432 posts
 
I've only been to about 1000 professional live classical performances and counting. Aside from degrees in physics and EE so I know some math, I also completed a major in musicology and played french horn in a student orchestra. I have also have measured a fair amount of live and reproduced music. I stand by my example, 3%-10% harmonic distortion will significantly shift the reproduction of timbre in the lower bass octaves.
detlof
1,899 posts
 
Nobody said it didn't.
sedond
1,314 posts
 
while low-frequency extension is obviously important, i agree that thd is a critical spec for subwoofers. perhaps that's why the vmps subs, when used w/a quality outboard electronic x-over, are such over-achievers at their price-point. vmps' published distortion specs are, if not the lowest in the industry, right up there w/whoever is. most subwoofer mfr's don't even publish their distortion specs.

doug s.

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