There is no way I'm even close to an experienced enough listener to be able to tell apart such a marginal difference in the frequency response, so I've generally been guiding my placement and EQ decisions by measuring and matching the Harman curve as closely as I can.
That's what I noticed as well, I can only really tell the subs are there once I crank the volume. Which, I rarely do because I live in an apartment. To be fair, the soundproofing is excellent, and I haven't gotten any complaints, but pushing the volume still stresses me out. So, I guess my situation isn't even a great use-case for a subwoofer.
Hi
I was about to reply to your original post.. I've had different issues to deal with , these past month ...
I have taken the liberty to highlight this part. I believe this is an issue much more pervasive than many realize. Many system sound .. underwhelming at low volume. Some take it as a badge of golden-eared audiophilia"... Telling you how good the midrange was, and that bass is for "bassheads" , HT or for hip-hop..
The reality is that our hearing follows roughly a curve that Harvey Fletcher and Wilden A. Munson set out to answer in the early 1930s, and in 1933 they published their results in a paper entitled, “Loudness, its definition, measurement and calculation.”
here is the curve of equal loudness:
TLDR from all of these is: Let's suppose a measured SPL of 60 dB at 1000 Hz. For most humans to
perceive the same
sensation of loudness at 40 Hz requires an actual SPL at 40 Hz of measured SPL of about 87 dB...
27 dB higher in actual SPL... That means in order for many to perceive a balanced sound reproduction at low average and general SPL, the bass (and somewhat the treble ) must be raised some.. How much is an issue that for odd reasons, is only addressed or implemented by only a few companies and this with various degree of success... I know that Denon through Audyssey has that and they call it DynEQ, to me a game changer: It varies the amount of boost of lows and highs according to volume position/level. I also believe RME has it and so does the MonoPrice HTP-1 PrePro.. Not sure DIRAC has it.. Variable loudness according to volume, is to me essential. We don't listen at a fixed level. It varies according to the situation thus the balance of sound... I tend to think that is what is happening based on the highlighted observation from you.
if you have access to a Denon AVR, try to use DynEQ , after calibration with REW, I am almost certain you will hear a better, more balanced reproduction at low volumes...
Peace.