Subwoofers "for music" vs "for movies"?

[squeedle]

What's the deal with choosing subwoofers "for music" versus "for movies"? Shouldn't any subwoofer accurately reproduce the source signal, period? It seems the "for movies" subwoofers can do everything the "for music" ones can do plus more. Or is there more to it?

 

[Trell]

Not really, but many movies have more and deeper low frequency content than most music.

 

[warnerwh]

You're correct that a subwoofer's job is to reproduce the signal accurately. Movies do have low frequencies that can be down to single digits but it's not that common. My home theater sub has an F3 of 17hz and it will rattle the walls in some movies and play low frequencies of music very accurately. Just buy the best subwoofer(s) you can. They make a big difference in the overall sound of your system. Unfortunately good quality low distortion subs that play very low, with a honest F3 under 20hz also cost plenty of money. It's best to have overkill to keep distortion at a minimum too.

 

[squeedle]

Just buy the best subwoofer(s) you can. They make a big difference in the overall sound of your system.

Agreed. Just curious why it seems so common for people to ask "is it for music or movies" when people ask for subwoofer recommendations. That seems kinda irrelevant to me. And it's never framed as, "if you get a 'movie' subwoofer, it should ALSO handle music very well, but not necessarily vice versa."

 

[Freeway]

Heck, my sub has a switch for that. NHT B-10d.

 

[warnerwh]

Agreed. Just curious why it seems so common for people to ask "is it for music or movies" when people ask for subwoofer recommendations. That seems kinda irrelevant to me. And it's never framed as, "if you get a 'movie' subwoofer, it should ALSO handle music very well, but not necessarily vice versa."

I think the reason is ignorance. Plus there's many people giving advice that shouldn't be.

 

[JSmith]

This post explains it well I think;

Music v Movie Subwoofer Types

I've read quite a bit of how certain subwoofers are good for music but bad for movies and vice versa. What I haven't seen defined are qualities that make a subwoofer good for one or the other but not both concurrently. Just what are those defining qualities? :confused:

www.avforums.com

JSmith

 

[bluefuzz]

I have a shelf in the corner holding around 500 blu-rays and a NAS upstairs with a couple of thousand movies on it. I don't think there is more than a half a dozen of those movies in which my subwoofer even gets activated let alone is necessary. My sub is 100% for music. Since when did movie watching become synonymous with overblown bass and ridiculous spatial effects?

Don't get me wrong, I like my bass – I might even be considered a bit of a 'bass head' when it comes to music – but IME if a movie 'needs' a subwoofer to be watchable then it's probably not worth watching in the first place ...

 

[Frgirard]

This post explains it well I think;

Music v Movie Subwoofer Types

I've read quite a bit of how certain subwoofers are good for music but bad for movies and vice versa. What I haven't seen defined are qualities that make a subwoofer good for one or the other but not both concurrently. Just what are those defining qualities? :confused:

www.avforums.com

JSmith

This thread ignore most musical stream like the dub or the organ needing low end reproduction.

 

[Chrispy]

Maybe just start with something along these lines https://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/10-nonsense-myths

 

[JSmith]

This thread ignore most musical stream like the dub or the organ needing low end reproduction.

Sure, it does, however I believe the comments are more general and not so case specific.



JSmith

 

[Sancus]

The whole "musical sub" myth comes from people using improperly setup subs with no EQ. Subs that go lower and play louder are more likely to trigger unpleasant room modes, and instead of resolving the issue they just say the sub "sounds slow" and buy a smaller one.

A good sub is a good sub, it will work well for both. How much sub you want/need is a different question than quality.

 

[Walter]

I agree that a good sub is good whether it is for music or movies. However, if you know the sub will be used only for music, then your priorities may change a bit to favor a flatter response over subsonic output.

 

[Ultrasonic]

Agreed. Just curious why it seems so common for people to ask "is it for music or movies" when people ask for subwoofer recommendations. That seems kinda irrelevant to me.

For me it's a relevant question since generally subwoofers used for movies will need to play both louder and lower. I never had any issues with the performance limits of my BK Monolith sub for music but it could run out of steam for movies, where the PSA S1510 that I have now clearly outperforms it.

 

[Ultrasonic]

However, if you know the sub will be used only for music, then your priorities may change a bit to favor a flatter response over subsonic output.

That's true to a degree, but I'd argue that the room mode effects would utterly dominate in most cases and so anyone really concerned with this aspect should be using EQ. This in turn would render the raw subwoofer response essentially moot.

 

[shawnsingh]

I have a shelf in the corner holding around 500 blu-rays and a NAS upstairs with a couple of thousand movies on it. I don't think there is more than a half a dozen of those movies in which my subwoofer even gets activated let alone is necessary. My sub is 100% for music. Since when did movie watching become synonymous with overblown bass and ridiculous spatial effects?

Don't get me wrong, I like my bass – I might even be considered a bit of a 'bass head' when it comes to music – but IME if a movie 'needs' a subwoofer to be watchable then it's probably not worth watching in the first place ...

Is your playback system 5.1? The reason I ask is because typical downmix techniques would skip the subwoofer channel. Is it possible that's why you felt it never made a difference?

Which I think is something to consider in this thread... 5.1 content would have a discrete subwoofer (LFE) channel, while music may be still largely stereo. I think it's fair to say that any good subwoofer shouldn't need to classify itself, but if they wanted to take shortcuts, probably one could argue that movie usage might not need as good a crossover because playback has a separate sub channel, while music might not need as low frequency extension.

 

[bluefuzz]

Is your playback system 5.1?

No, only 2.1.

The reason I ask is because typical downmix techniques would skip the subwoofer channel. Is it possible that's why you felt it never made a difference?

I doubt it. More likely that I simply don't watch movies containing a lot of effects. The vast majority of my collection was probably recorded on a Nagra IV in glorious mono ...

 

[Walter]

That's true to a degree, but I'd argue that the room mode effects would utterly dominate in most cases and so anyone really concerned with this aspect should be using EQ. This in turn would render the raw subwoofer response essentially moot.

Not if it is the difference between a sub that drops quickly below 20-25 Hz vs. one that begins rolling off at a higher frequency but has a substantially shallower slop. EQ is essential to get the most out of any sub, but of course you want to avoid significant boosts, especially at the very lowest frequencies. Even for movies, I think most people would be happier with a sub that has a flatter frequency response, even at the loss of a LITTLE extension or volume.

 

[Pdxwayne]

I owned two SVS ported subs (one cylinder and one box) that would easily shake the house with movies. However, I had difficulty getting get them to sound good with music. I have since sold both. What I have now are all sealed subs (two 10", 12", 15", and twin 15"). YMMV.

 

[Ultrasonic]

Not if it is the difference between a sub that drops quickly below 20-25 Hz vs. one that begins rolling off at a higher frequency but has a substantially shallower slop. EQ is essential to get the most out of any sub, but of course you want to avoid significant boosts, especially at the very lowest frequencies. Even for movies, I think most people would be happier with a sub that has a flatter frequency response, even at the loss of a LITTLE extension or volume.

I think you're more getting into bass extension rather than linearity there, which I'd consider to the be response above the roll-off region like I would with a main speaker. Obviously bass extension matters but I really don't think it makes any difference to me how linear or not the ouput of the subs I've used may be.