Is There A Device For Home Use That Can Measure How Low The Bass In My Speakers Is?


How can I measure how many hertz my speakers measure for bass?

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Lots of spectrum analyzer apps available for Android and iPhone. You can get an inexpensive calibrated mic from Parts Express. Pink noise can come from an app, CD or Vinyl. Do not use interstation noise.

White noise from FM is equal energy per frequency.

Pink noise is equal energy per octave.

Big difference, as white noise is much brighter - as energy doubles with each octave. Measurements made with white noise are all wrong, as the curve rises at 3dB/Octave from 0. 63Hz is 12 dB lower than 1KHz.

 

For any measurement to be meaningful, you will need a pink noise source and a precision sound pressure level meter with a calibrated microphone.  You might be able to download a 1/3 octave pink noise source which you can burn to a CD.  Records or prerecorded tapes will of course be influenced by the frequency response of your cartridge and tape machine, which at very low frequencies could add another variable.  Where you place the SPL meter and what weighting filter you use will also affect your results.  Are you trying to measure just the speakers or the total response of your speakers in your listening environment?  Bruel & Kjaer wrote much on acoustic measurement and have published many books and booklets on making meaningful SPL measurements which I would highly recommend as useful reading.  Even the instruction book for their 2203 Precision Sound Level Meter has useful information for doing what you want to accomplish.

Listen to Chayro,  The Stereophile test CD will tell you.  Common sense tells you when it becomes inaudible, you have passed the bottom end.

If this is just for curiosity sake, a test tone generator is on many websites including audiocheck as listed above.  Also there are phone apps for SPL, so you can verify the drop in dB, probably not super accurate, but good enough for curiosity.