Rypro 525

the current sub i have is 50 watt, and its pretty good. only problem is that it sometimes vibrates when the lfe is really deep (matrix sequel's can get annoying sometimes). i was thinking, say i had a 250 watt sub, would the bass sound any deeper or more natural (the 50 watt vibrates the floor sometimes, would a 250 shake it?)

THORN

many things influence bass responce, while amp power does play a part it is definatly not the most important

IMHO the most important is the room position (the corner of the room usualy give the best responce) try a few diff positions and see what happens

2nd the size of ur room. this requires som higher level math than i am particularly comfortable. needless to say i understand the theroy even if i can explain the math. frequency sound waves equate to physical dimensions (these numbers are wrong) but for example say a 20Hz wave equals 20ft if ur room is only19ft u may not be able to hear a 20Hz signal. it may be possible to hear it if ur room were 1/4 of the signal lenght or 1/2 the lenght . if the sound wave strikes the wall incorrectly postioned its reflection can cancel out the orginal wave.

3rd the size of the driver/ enclosure.... the driver must be able to move enought air to produce the desired sound . the enclosure is subject to the same rules as the room in reguards to wave lenght (again that damn math )

lastly is probably the power behind the driver (ur orginal question)

hope this helped

THORN

hoyalawya

The wattage of a powered subwoofer is irrelevant if the sub design is poor. Most subs at Best Buy won't go down below 35 htz without dipping substantially below the standard +/- 3db flat response.

To answer your question, higher power amp will be able to move more air therefore more vibration at lower frequency assuming that the sub can produce the low frequencies.

If you want to experience a "real" sub at a reasonable price. Check out SVS and HSU subwoofers.

chipmac

Put simply watts equals more possible volume. Deep bass equals lower frequency response. You can get deep bass without more volume if your setup is correct like Thorn explains. More watts (power) can help in a large room but sub position and room acoustics are just as, if not more, important. The bottom line though is that if the frequency response of your sub only reaches to 35Hz then no amount of additional power or volume will make it go lower.

Brian Shannon

The biggest single factor here is driver size (ie., diameter). The larger the driver, coupled with power, will provide the lowest bass.

Try this link http://www.svsubwoofers.com/



http://www.svsubwoofers.com/animation.htm

DVD Josh

Rypro, everyone is pretty much on so far.

Something you need to understand about wattage and what is termed "perceived volume". What this means is how loud your ear perceives volume.

In order for something to be "heard" twice as loud, it needs to actually be 4x as loud. That's why a 50W sub does not sound substantially louder than a 100W one.

Sdallnct

The overall quality of the sub can have an effect as well. For example, a poorly made cabinet might cause the bass to be not as "solid" sounding.

Of course there is the old "numbers game" played by some. I would trust the numbers more on something like the SVS, KEF, Velodyne, etc a lot more then the numbers on the subs at K-mart.

IMHO, one of the most important things you can do is buy from a dealer you can trust and has a good reputation (on line or B&M). As mentioned there are many factors that will effect sub sound. And you will not really know what it sounds like till you get it in your home, in the room, hooked up to your system. So you want to make sure you have some sort of return, exchange option. Even if it is just 30 days or something.

gotapex

Most quote 10x the sound pressure to be perceived as 2x the volume.