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Is bass the most important frequency band?

One thing I’ve noticed when upgrading my audio system is that when I have really good bass, I’m happy. If the bass is top notch, I can overlook less-than-stellar treble or so-so midrange. The opposite does not seem to be true. Sure, I can get tremendous enjoyment out of a high-fidelity playback of a flute or other instrument that doesn’t have much bass impact, but when I switch to a track that has some slam, if my sub/woofers don’t perform, I’m left wanting, and I am inclined to change the track. When my subwoofer game is top notch, there is something extremely pleasing about tight, powerful, and accurate bass response that easily puts a smile on my face and lifts my mood in a matter of seconds. Maybe it all boils down to the fact that bass frequencies are heard AND felt and the inclusion of another sense (touch/feeling) gives bass a competitive edge over midrange and treble. I am not talking about loud bass (although that can be really fun and has its place), but the type of bass that gives you a sense of a kick drum’s size or allows for the double bass to reach out and vibrate the room and your body. I propose to you that bass and sub-bass should be optimized first and foremost, followed by treble and midrange in order to maximize enjoyment. Thoughts?
mkgus
knotscott's avatar
knotscott
1,096 posts
 
While I enjoy good bass, somewhat sloppy bass or preferably "less" deep bass are much easier for me to tolerate than sloppy upper midrange or treble, so its the first thing I’d sacrifice if I couldn’t have full range high fidelity across the whole bandwidth. I’d take a nice clear little pair of Proacs or Rogers LS3/5As with limited extensio, but dynamic bass over a full range Cerwin Vega or some other boom box any day.  Most rooms don't handle massive deep bass very well anyway.

I hear a lot of systems with gobs of lousy flapping bass....especially in car systems, unfortunately that also have grundgy mids and highs, but as long as its loud and overpowering, plenty of folks seem happy and impressed with it. Just not my cup of tea. Boils down to preference.


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danager's avatar
danager
978 posts
 
For me it's the blend.  I can give up the very bottom if the there is some bass and the midrange is clear and present and the highs not being dead and lifeless... in the beginning.   That's the starting point.  From there I can adjust the speakers location, and add a sub if there is no other way and change some cables as a last resort.

jtcf's avatar
jtcf
1,620 posts
 
Getting the bass right is important and difficult. In the long run your satisfaction would fade if you couldn't achieve a good balance with the other frequencies.@ghdprentice I know exactly what you mean. A system can be tuned to sound wonderful to an individual's preference (which is fine) without being true to what instruments sound like in reality.
mkgus's avatar
mkgus OP
324 posts
 
It is definitely the hardest band to get right.

It really is. There are so many factors that go into it that are above and beyond the other frequencies. Room acoustics are very challenging at low frequencies and then there’s the challenge of controlling a speaker cone that is putting out massive wattage without it sounding distorted or “sloppy.” Gobs of power and ridiculous amounts of capacitance coupled with high quality drivers seems to help quite a bit.
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