frequency range for instrument vs speaker

06-20-12: Paulsax
I seem to recall that a typical electric bass guitar drops to mid to high 30's on the open low string. For some reason 38 is sticking out in my mind. lots of fronts will do that but the discussion on spl above my explain why the sub helps out.

If you check this chart, you will see that the low E of a 4-string bass is 41.203 Hz. For a 5-string, the low B is 30.868 Hz. Maybe that's what stuck in your mind (with a little modification). Or maybe you were thinking of Eb, which is 38.891 Hz.

Your second part is definitely true. You can't count on many speakers to make meaningful bass below 50 Hz. Many start rolling off around 80-100 Hz. Of course this depends on speaker placement, room-loading, etc. And more expensive speakers definitely go lower.

Still, if Wilson Audio tours the Alexandria XLFs with a pair of Thor subs, I'd say just about *any* loudspeaker would benefit from the right pair of subs properly blended.

"I'd say just about *any* loudspeaker would benefit from the right pair of subs properly blended."

That's true because it is adding more power (assuming powered subwoofers) to the whole system and low frequency reproduction takes lots of power. Properly blended is the key and that doesn't come cheap. Plus, at some point the stereo will either run everyone out of the house or shake the house down. The ultimate plight of the over-enthusiastic audiophile.

You can't count on many speakers to make meaningful bass below 50 Hz.

Way too broad a generalization.

I'd say just about *any* loudspeaker would benefit from the right pair of subs properly blended.

Benefit to a bass obsessed audiophile - yes. Required or needed for music reproduction - no.

FWIW, I'll share my experience on this.

I once heard a demo at a local shop. It was a recording of an acoustic guitar. Nothing else. Don't remember exactly what speakers I was listening to. I listened for a while, it sounded very nice. The dealer then said," I'm going to switch things up a bit and let you listen to the same recording, same speakers, same amp. Tell me what you think". I listened again, wow! It sounded more real, deeper soundstage, more immediate, etc. Like the notes were floating out there instead of coming from the speakers. I asked if he switched cd players? "Nope", he said, "I turned on the REL sub in the corner over there".

Even if the notes only go down to 40hz, there's something below that frequency that we feel or sense or something.

There exists an acoustical phenomenon called "undertones". Two frequencies sounding together create a phantom tone well below the fundamental frequency of either of the original tones. Just as with "overtones" (harmonics), the presence of these undertones is a large part of what gives instruments timbral complexity, and what allows one to hear or sense the volume of the space that the instrument or voice is playing in. The sound instruments playing together or alone is a practically infinite matrix of the interactions of fundamental tones and harmonics (under and overtones). If a system cannot reproduce the lowest frequencies, the sound of instruments will definitely be impacted. How much and how important that particular aspect of sound is, is a personal call when we consider how many other things there are that affect correct record/playback.