I am Dazed and Confused

[eltabor]

:confused:I am ignorant and need this explained to me as you would explain it to an 8 year old child. I have the VTF-1 an analog sound meter and the test CD that came with the sub. I sat there with everything on (meter, sub and CD) and a copy of the spread sheet. I had no clue as to what I was doing, so I did nothing but listen to the CD and watch the needle go up and down. Please help or should I try to find time to get you on the phone and walk me through the experience.
Thank You
Ed

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi Ed,

We may have discussed this over the phone, but the general idea is to take the average of four frequencies below the crossover frequency (say, 80Hz) and compare that to the average of four frequencies above the crossover frequency. Then one can adjust the subwoofer channel level so that the lower frequencies are level matched with the higher frequencies. In addition to level matching subwoofer with respect to main speakers, one can use the test tone CD and sound level meter to phase match the subwoofer with respect to the main speakers. Finally, one can even measure the frequency response with the subwoofer in different locations to see what gives the smoothest response.

Sincerely,

[eltabor]

Thanks and you did take care of me on the phone. Some shows, I hear no bass at all, mostly 1970's and PBS channels. When I play a dvd at times the bass is so nice I feel it through the seat cushion tickling my butt.

[Pete_Hsu]

Hi Ed,

In the shows where you don't hear any bass at all, there could be two potential explanations for that: one is that the program material simply has very little deep bass content to begin with, and two is that the deep bass signal is too low for the subwoofer to wake up when in the 'Auto-On' setting. So if you see the LED stay red, that means the deep bass signal is so weak that the Auto-On is not triggering.

Sincerely,

[JerryMeeker]

Some shows, I hear no bass at all, mostly 1970's and PBS channels. When I play a dvd at times the bass is so nice I feel it through the seat cushion tickling my butt.

Welcome to the world of widely inconsistent source material. If you are expecting a uniform level of bass content across all sources, including television, CD's, DVD's, SACD's and DVD-Audio, then you will be disappointed.

I have several "reference" disks that I use to assess the bass performance of my system after making changes. Since I am familiar with how these reference disks "should" sound, I can determine whether my tweaks have improved the bass response, or made it worse.

Once that is done, I attribute variations in bass response on subsequent audio sources as attributable to the source, and not my system. This allows me to enjoy listening, and not to obsess about every little difference. Enjoy! :D

[eltabor]

I was thinking that it was the recording technology of the times or lack of with the older programs and lack of funding for PBS and FREE SPEACH NETWORK. DVD's at times will sneak up and startle the s@it out of you and that is what I want. Concert Footage shakes the whole house just as a band with good equipment will do.