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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
rbstehno
1,444 posts
 
Bomarc, i don't have a misimpression about your thread or any others. you made a comment that states no bookshelf speaker is flat to 50hz. i disagree with you unless you can tell me that you have listened to all the bookshelf speakers out there. as for bookshelf speakers, i have seen subwoofers smaller than the size of my mani 2's that are claimed to go down into the high 20's hz range so i don't think size has much to do with it. i do agree with you that a larger speaker will have an easier time to play loud and deep in a larger room. imo, in a typical room sized 20 x 12 or smaller, a good bookshelf speaker could sound wonderful with a full range sound. the caveats are: larger bookshelf speakers (bigger than the nht superzeros or super ones), powerfull amplifier(s), and speaker positioning. i use totem mani 2's in my audio room that is 14 x 12 and i have another pair in my home theater room that is 18 x 40 (back open to eating space and kitchen) and the mani's sound full range in both rooms. i do need bigger amps in the home theater room to get the same level of sound, but the bass and fullness is still there.
the best thing to do is try out the speakers you like in the room you will be using them in to see how they sound to you. if a bookshelf works, great. if not, there are some great floor standing speakers out there.
good luck!
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Tiny speaker can indeed reproduce very low frequencies: even 20 Hz. But the sound volume will be so low that you can't hear it unless you put your ear right up to the speaker. Hey...that's earphones.

Bookshelf speakers are for small rooms, and low volume, and in this situation can be quite satisfactory.
bomarc
501 posts
 
Rbstehno: I agree that the best (and probably only) way to know whether any speaker will give you satisfying bass is to try it out at home. And my post offered some explanation for why a smaller speaker might nevertheless give you decent bass in at least a mid-size room.

But I disagree on two points. First, size does matter. A lot. That's basic physics. Second, many manufacturers CLAIM their bookshelf models are flat to below 50 Hz. But I have never, ever seen an independent test that confirmed those meaurements. Not once. Again, physics intervenes. You cannot get a lot of bass energy out of a small box. Even if the marketing department says you can.
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