@wolf_garcia wrote:
"Bass frequencies absolutely require MUCH more power than treble or mids, to state otherwise is ridiculous."
The musical spectrum normally has more energy at low frequencies than at mid and high frequencies, with 400 Hz being the approximate midpoint for power distribution.
But if a speaker is "flat" down to 20 Hz, then by definition that means it requires the same amount of power to reach a given SPL at 20 Hz as it does elsewhere in the spectrum.
The reason a subwoofer might need a 500 watt amp to keep up with speakers that only need 50 watts is, the subwoofer is perhaps 10 dB less efficient than the main speakers. The way to get deep bass extension in a small box is to trade off efficiency (or to equalize, which is another way of doing the same thing). If the subwoofer box was 10 times larger, its efficiency would be 10 dB higher (perhaps matching that of the main speakers). But it’s more practical to build a 500 watt amp into a small sub than to have a much more efficient large sub.
Duke
