@chazzzy007 --
It’s not just about smoothing out modes. Its about recreating the subtle spacial textures in greater detail. [...]
We certainly agree here, but I’d add smoothing out room modes could aid what you point out. Below the Schroeder frequency what needs to be addressed is, to a point, less about preference and more purely about parameters dictated by physics, and it’s why I gave up early chasing the proverbial "holy grail" of bass with the more typical segment of lower sensitivity, direct radiating subs. Apart from focusing on the importance of minimizing room modes with at least a pair of subs, symmetrical placement close to the mains (my hobbyhorse) and, not to forget, overall implementation, there are two aspects in particular that has caught my attention as being essential in attaining great bass reproduction:
One is the SPL capacity at hand and how its abundance (i.e.: LOADS of it) can lead to sufficient headroom, which has the sonic effect outlined in my earlier post. Many seem to believe this approach is mainly about challenging the structural integrity of one’s house/apartment, and that subs capable of this mayn’t be the last word in refinement and subtlety in their reproduction of the lowest frequencies at more sane levels. Given a well executed design, nothing could be further from the truth; the ease of reproduction that follows from huge headroom and low distortion results in a wholly relaxed and pure bass presentation, not least via horn iterations, that brings out the best in the perceived experience of this frequency spectrum. Indeed I’d wager that if more people actually had the opportunity to witness bass like that, fewer would argue against countering subjectivity as a prevailing point of view here.
Following the necessity of or even logic behind above mentioned, another important aspect to my ears is the horn loading of bass, and I’ve already explained why in above post. The rub of it all - achieving headroom, potential horn-loading and upping the number of subs to at least a pair - is BIG size and the need for a minimum of available space, not to mention usually implementing a DIY-approach, and few are willing to or capable of meeting these demands.
