Weird bass phenomenon with a stereo pair
I've noticed something interesting about the sound from my stereo pair, and I was curious if anyone else has experienced it. I have a pair of Play:5s, and I've been using TruePlay from the start. The sound is pretty great overall, but my only complaint is the bass. It's concentrated in one spot of the room (specifically, when you're sitting on the couch) and we get excellent lows...almost skull vibrating. But if you stand up and take a step to either side, the bass completely disappears. It's like standing in front of fire hose when you're on the couch...but if you move a few feet, the bass misses you completely. I'd rather hear consistent bass all over the room, even if it's less intense. Is this a TruePlay issue? Am I crazy?
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I doubt you are crazy although I haven't noticed this. Are speakers in horizontal or vertical orientation?
Where is the Sub kept? For music, it is best placed between the speaker pair, even if not exactly in the centre. Just because it can be placed anywhere does not mean it sounds the same everywhere.
Horizontal
I don’t have a sub 😉
Just experimented with my horizontal pair of P:5s. Bass pretty consistent as I wandered round the room.
You have just discovered something about sound waves and rooms.
I suggest that you perform an experiment: Play something with a thumping base line, then walk along the walls with a handful of post-it notes. When you discover one of these concentrated spots, mark it with a Post-it. Continue around the room, then step back and note the pattern. You might notice that a few of these points will be extreme, relative to the others. You might want to mark these with a (!). About midway between these "Peaks" is a "Null" where the bass will seem anemic. After you are accustomed to observing these peaks and nulls, you'll be able to discover them in three dimensions. The locations and severity of these peaks and nulls depends on the room geometry and wavelength of the note. This is also reciprocal. By this I mean if you place a speaker at a peak, it will be more efficient delivering sound (at that wavelength) into the room.
I first learned about this in my college apartment. It was a small, square room and I noticed a "spot" where bass notes seemed to explode from inside one's body. I placed a chair on the spot. This was a favorite chair for males. If I moved the chair a few inches, there was no explosion.
I suggest that you perform an experiment: Play something with a thumping base line, then walk along the walls with a handful of post-it notes. When you discover one of these concentrated spots, mark it with a Post-it. Continue around the room, then step back and note the pattern. You might notice that a few of these points will be extreme, relative to the others. You might want to mark these with a (!). About midway between these "Peaks" is a "Null" where the bass will seem anemic. After you are accustomed to observing these peaks and nulls, you'll be able to discover them in three dimensions. The locations and severity of these peaks and nulls depends on the room geometry and wavelength of the note. This is also reciprocal. By this I mean if you place a speaker at a peak, it will be more efficient delivering sound (at that wavelength) into the room.
I first learned about this in my college apartment. It was a small, square room and I noticed a "spot" where bass notes seemed to explode from inside one's body. I placed a chair on the spot. This was a favorite chair for males. If I moved the chair a few inches, there was no explosion.
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