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50hz deep enough?

I am looking at getting some new speakers and I am leaning toward a few differently bookshelf's.

However some of them only go down to 50hz.

Is this deep enough for music only? I am not a bass junkie. I just want to be true to the music. I know that there is information in the music I will be missing. However with a speaker starting to drop off at 50hz will I still be able to follow the rhythm of a bass guitar and large drums?

With my current set up I get LOTS of bass. My speakers are rated 34Hz +/- 3dB. Once I added my line conditioner and rega planet I found my bass really took a step up. or a step deeper I should say. Thus why I am wondering if a smaller monitor my be acceptable.

If you deem 50 Hz not deep enough, what would you consider minimum to be enjoyable and due justice to the music. I listen to everything except for Rap and country. I like rock, bluegrass, jazz, classical, vocal etc.... even metal on occasion.

Cheers.
nickway
stehno
1,453 posts
 
I agree with nrchy's statement: "There are people who are bass junkies that buy speakers that only go down to 50Hz because too many speakers do not deliver good realistic bass."

But I would edit his statement to say: "There are people who are bass junkies that buy amplifiers, cables, that will not allow full-range speakers to perform optimally at the lower octaves and therefore, simply cannot deliver realistic bass."

In other words, consider giving the same amount of attention to the amplifier and cables as you might at the speakers, and that may resolve most potential concerns.

-IMO
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hammy
176 posts
 
It's really a question only you can answer. I will say your old speakers are not +-3db at 34hz, they are -3db. Having said that, there is no doubt you will sacrifice some bass going to a small speaker. One thing you will discover though, after adjusting, is that the bass you do get is tighter, faster, truer to the music. This is true of any good speaker, so you will get quality over quantity.

How big is your room? If you have the best speakers in the world in a walk-in closet, they won't give you deep bass. The room is not big enough for large wavlengths. A thirty hertz tone is huge....physically. High frequencies are tiny waves, which is why they can't get around cabinets or obstructions. In short, if you are in a small apartment it won't matter as much.

Finally, you can always add a sub for metal or movies. It won't be as accurate, but it will satisfy.
bomarc
501 posts
 
If your current speakers are Paradigm Reference Studio 40s, they aren't anywhere near flat to 50 Hz. Tom Nousaine measured them for Sound & Vision several months back, and if my recollection is accurate, found that they started rolling off somewhere around 70 or 80 Hz.

Given that they provide you with, in your words, LOTS of bass, I don't think you have to worry about other bookshelf models falling short.

(Also, you shouldn't take this as a slam at Paradigm. All speaker manufacturers exaggerate bass performance. And the 40 is an excellent bookshelf speaker.)
bomarc
501 posts
 
Just noticed your post about room sizes. Well, that explains why a bookshelf speaker is giving you lots of bass! Once you move into the larger room, you won't get nearly as much, with that or any other bookshelf speaker.
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
I have a very elaborate subwoofer system that measures flat to 20 Hz...but...my Magneplanar MG1.6 speakers, when run full range, roll off at 40+ Hz, however they do seem to have very satisfactory bass for about 95 percent of the music. I believe the reason why Maggies limited LF extension sounds OK is because the response is very smooth: uniform without peaks. (They are planar speakers, so there is no enclosure resonance to cope with). Smoothness of LF response is a spec that is hard to define, and usually not mentioned. My advice is to listen to some speakers, without looking at their claimed LF response.
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