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Anatomy of a chest kick?

Tupisac

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Dec 29, 2021
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What's in play here? What frequencies? What is a minimal SPL level required to induce the feeling?
 
SPL has a lot to do with it

 
I estimate 80 Hz to 100 Hz for the chest thumps.

That high? Out of a subwoofer range??

I've been trying to achieve the feeling with my nearfield setup (JBL 305 + LSR310S) and no bueno. All I get is rumbling furniture and squished eardrums. And that region is actually pretty clean according to my REW measurements. Very low distortion, lowest delay, no major dips, etc...
 
SPL has a lot to do with it

Thanks for the link. Will take some time to chew thru it tho ;).

Now, for the SPL - I've actually tried measuring it with my phone on my last guitar meet-up. Drummer was playing pretty tame jazz beat and overall dB level haven't exceeded 85-90 dB with everyone playing and singing. But even those light taps on the kickdrum were very clearly felt...
 
That high? Out of a subwoofer range??
Normally, yes. Subwoofers are good for keyboards, church organs, film effects etc. They have almost no impact on kick drum and hence chest thump. Where they can help us by reducing the workload of main speakers on lower frequencies.
 
That high? Out of a subwoofer range??

I've been trying to achieve the feeling with my nearfield setup (JBL 305 + LSR310S) and no bueno.
That would make sense. You aren't going to get anything you can feel from a 5-inch "woofer". A 10-inch subwoofer also seems a bit small for this kind of thing too even if it covers some of that frequency range.

...I grew-up in the 70s when home stereos often had a pair of 12-inch woofers and I'm still an old school "big speaker" guy. My home theater has a pair of 15-inch subs in big boxes.

Subwoofers used live and in dance clubs are usually large drivers in large cabinets. And by "tuning" them to go down to only around 40Hz and ignoring the super-deep bass, they can get more efficiency (more SPL per watt). Of course they are filling a larger space so you don't need that in a home or studio setup but you still might need more than a 10-inch woofer.
 
That article above indicated chest kick is 100 to 200 hz. No clear indication on SPL. The B&K info seems to show 50-100 hz. I'm not sure. I know seeing the movie Dune Pt 2 it was full of chest kicks in the theater. I thought the whole thing was too loud as did my friends though not ear bleeding loud. I don't think with the speakers you have you are going to get it anywhere from 50-200 hz. I don't get it in my home theater which is pretty good down to 34 hz and drops some below that. I'm using 3 12 inch subs for that. It might manage that if I turn it up enough.
 
like I said in the topic linked above, I don't think this is something to strive for in a home system. invite a drummer to your home. feeling the kick in your chest isn't natural.
 
Thanks for all the answers. I've chewed through the linked topic and general consensus seem to be "there is no replacement for displacement".

Bummer...
 
i think chest thump is centered around 60hz
 
i think chest thump is centered around 60hz

It is what XLF setting on my sub does, which is basically a 60 Hz hump. It does give the bass much more presence, but at higher volumes it just pressurizes my ears.

By thw way, how's your KH310 with a 12" sub doing in that regard? I've been eyeing a KH750 + KH120 set for quite a while, but now I'm starting to feel like I'd need something beefier...
 
From my days as sound engineer, the kick fundamental is between 40 and 80Hz in most cases, but most of the energy is a bit above, in the 100 to 350Hz area, and boosting that can make a weak kick a very strong one.

On volume, i would think you certainly need +90dB SPL for that feeling, probally even bettter arround 100dB. A kickdrum is very loud when playing live.
 
when the klingon thumbs his hand against his chest , in Dolby 70mm , JBL THX sound system , the same thing is felt against the audiences chests at the world famous CIC Empire Leicester Square , sunday 8th october 1989

so you have to get matching JBL cinema speakers cant use these tiny home theatre speakers , and use the first region 1 dvd , the other versions have had the sound mix botched up on those blu-4k discs

 
when the klingon retracts the blade opens up , ( click ) that sound is felt against the chest , when klingon stabs its also felt against chest and stomach ,, when captain kirk stumbles backwards that is also felt in the foley, that's how good , JBL and lucasfilm ltd THX sound system was at , world famous , CIC Empire Leicester Square at star trek all day 70mm THX marathon , sunday 8th october 1989

 
when captain kirk has the enterprise self destruct , felt like someone raised their knee up into my jaw and kick in the chest and almighty of the lowest lows felt in my stomach ( when the saucer section exploded ) again that is how good the 70mm THX/TAP was at the world famous CIC Empire Leicester Square on sunday 8th 1989 , best JBL THX i ever listened and felt and nothing else since then has equalled it

 
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