There's a lot more bass in a 6.5" driver than most of you think

Frequency, as it lowers, undergoes a ’phase change’ of sorts. It becomes less directional and begins to ’omni’.

Look up Schroeder's Frequency. It is exactly what you mentioned.

https://www.soundandvision.com/content/schroeder-frequency-show-and-tell-part-1

As you mentioned, there is a phase change, but as with most things, it is not sudden and the lower it goes, the less directional. Try this exercise, have a tone generator to put out 40Hz, and then try locate the speakers, I bet you cannot. at 150Hz (lower than most Schroeder Frequency), you probably can. Also different room size has different Schroeder frequency so everyone's observation / experience might be different.

Hello jmpsmash,

     Good post with very accurate and useful information about how we perceive sound at various frequencies in our domestic sized rooms. The Schroeder frequency of a room typically being about 200 Hz , the fact that we can't localize bass frequencies below about 80 Hz, the knowledge that humans can’t even perceive the exitance of sound tones in their rooms until the complete full cycle (fully formed) soundwaves exist in the room to be detected by our ears and processed as a perception of sound at a certain pitch/frequency, volume and duration and it takes several full cycle soundwaves to be presented into a room for changes in pitch and volume to be perceived; these are all very useful concepts and facts to be familiar with for all of us home audio enthusiasts.  Okay ladies, now we're having a meaningful discussion about attaining good bass response in our uniquely sized and shaped rooms.  Science and facts are our friends, boys and girls.

     

     Here's a quote from The Absolute Sound reviewer, Robert E. Greene, that I find very relevant to this discussion:

"Audiophiles tend to be very concerned about the upper half of the musical spectrum. “Female vocals” are the standard test material for many. Perhaps this arises precisely because it is the upper-frequency material that does not change so much from one room to another. So, if one thinks of audio as mainly about a system of equipment rather than about the combination of that system and a room (as is really the case), then it becomes natural to concentrate on the part that is affected least by the room.

Unfortunately for this view, the lower frequencies are a truly vital part of music. They are harder to deal with in a domestic environment than are the upper reaches, but deal with them one must."

     Dealing with the lower frequencies via the utilization of 2-4 optimally positioned, good quality and optimally configured subs are the best solutions I've ever used to date and that I'm currently aware of.  The more subs deployed in a room, the better the lower frequencies are dealt with.

The truth will set your room's bass free,

                         Tim

I added a chart from Gravesen on my blog, which shows exactly how room gain affected one of his designs.

Erik,

     Your blog?  How does one access that?

Thanks,
  Tim

Hi @noble100

It is the link in my first post. :)

Best,

E