Subwoofers: are they really necessary for home audio?

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For me myself, a little boost or cut in a good system won't hurt, but MANUALLY equalizing based on music is really a headache. So it is not just an extra caps or carbon pot in the signal path.

About the 4K in a recording, its new for me. Quite strange as many speakers do the same thing.

Maybe some of the recording engineers here could shed some light on this. Is it old Yamahammer monitors that had a big dip? Are most "experienced" engineers getting deaf there? Is it a desire to "jump off the shelf"? as we used to call "The West Coast Sound" A.K.A "Just Bloody Loud speakers." of the 70's. One engineer I met suggested it was common practice that could be contributing to my wife's great dislike for some recordings and speakers. Is NonSuch out there listening?

I find a tone control system not to be a problem at all and very easy to use. If you are concerned with a pot in the circuit, I suggest you draw out everything that has happened to your pure music from mic to your ears. Not dismissing the idea that every denigration is bad, it is just plain "in the noise", pardon the bad pun. I would rather have just a touch of trim available. This is in my home, not the same in a control room or live venue of course. The answer is, for right then and there, does it sound more enjoyable? At the bottom of all the fun, learning, and even bragging rights, it's the music that matters to me.
 
Maybe some of the recording engineers here could shed some light on this. Is it old Yamahammer monitors that had a big dip? Are most "experienced" engineers getting deaf there? Is it a desire to "jump off the shelf"? as we used to call "The West Coast Sound" A.K.A "Just Bloody Loud speakers." of the 70's. One engineer I met suggested it was common practice that could be contributing to my wife's great dislike for some recordings and speakers.

I find a tone control system not to be a problem at all and very easy to use.

Simple tone controls are inadequate to deal with most problems caused by mixes on non-flat monitors, but they can certainly help.

Noise induced hearing loss deaf engineer issues aside, the ubiquitous Yamaha NS10 has a response peak around 1600 Hz free field, but often they were (are) placed on the meter bridge of large consoles, which changes their response considerably.
Console meter bridge height and depth, and mix engineers height from the console all vary, each of those elements vary the frequency response heard in the studio, so "across the board" comments won't be valid for all those mixing on the NS10.

That said, the tendency when using a speaker that is not flat is to mix the inverse of it's response, if the response was like in figure 6, one would tend to cut back frequencies around 2500 Hz and boost around 3500 Hz.
When played back on a flat response speaker, the mix may sound too bright, as hearing is most sensitive in the 3-4KHz range.
If the NS10 was used without referencing headphones and/or monitors with flat low frequency response, the tendency would be to boost frequencies below 100 Hz in the mix.

Having a separate individual responsible for mastering could correct those types of problems, but reduced budgets now often mean the final mix, however it sounds, is what is released.

Art
 

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I came to the conclusion, years ago, that the recording industry at large isn't audiophile-friendly, that most music listeners were happy with what they got, and if we didn't like it, tough.....

A few autophile labs seem to be around, and they produce recordings that can be a pleasure to listen to on good equipment.

I treasure my old Sheffield recordings and a few others....
 
Is one aspect of bass-capable speakers that you are less likely to turn the volume up to ear-splitting levels in order to achieve the required visceral kick? Less listening fatigue? Generally lower levels in the mid and treble = less distortion? (in addition to the extra benefits of relieving the mids/woofers from the heaviest duties)

I've only just recently joined the uber-woofer fraternity (with phase flattening and all that DSP - I think I've nailed it) and I have to say I'm enjoying listening to everything anew, the music emerging effortlessly from a startlingly large empty blackness. It's real, like I've never heard before, and part of that is subtle, but bottomless, bass - my aim is definitely not to run a disco or reproduce loud explosions in films. I thought 6.5" woofers in ported boxes were good, but 12" drivers in huge sealed cabinets are fantastic.
 
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