drop ceilings no good for bass?

[robert L]

My audio video sales person told me a drop ceiling is not good for bass because it gets trapped in the plenum(the area inbetween the tiles and the rafters).....Any trueth to his theory. i have 1 sub and it seems i need another, maybe hes right, ANY THOUGHTS, thanks

[Race Car Driver]

Maybe consider the placement of the sub or the size/shape of the room more than the drop ceilings.

Id be willing to bet moving the sub around would have more of change on the sound vs sheetrocking the ceiling.

[robert L]

Maybe consider the placement of the sub or the size/shape of the room more than the drop ceilings.

Id be willing to bet moving the sub around would have more of change on the sound vs sheetrocking the ceiling.

ive moved my asw750 3 times now, the only thing is i go to opposite side of room from bass and its not as powerful ,im just curious if im losing some bass and not getting the whole affect, room is 18x24w concrete floor, thanks for respond chris

[RobP]

My audio video sales person told me a drop ceiling is not good for bass because it gets trapped in the plenum(the area inbetween the tiles and the rafters).....Any trueth to his theory. i have 1 sub and it seems i need another, maybe hes right, ANY THOUGHTS, thanks

If the bass was getting trapped as he says that it would be a good thing to have a drop down ceiling
It would actually help for a better in room bass response if it were true, but its not. He is wrong. Those 1" panels do not trap much energy at all really, mostly upper frequencies.

[GregLett]

What size is your room? Do you have a lot of furniture in it?

[robert L]

If the bass was getting trapped as he says that it would be a good thing to have a drop down ceiling
It would actually help for a better in room bass response if it were true, but its not. He is wrong. Those 1" panels do not trap much energy at all really, mostly upper frequencies.

i think u miss understood my quote, the bass is getting wasted in the ceiling above the drop ceiling, what he means is it gets past the tile then hits the plywood of the floor above

[GregLett]

i think u miss understood my quote, the bass is getting wasted in the ceiling above the drop ceiling, what he means is it gets past the tile then hits the plywood of the floor above

I have a dropped ceiling in my basement. I have one sub (nothing fancy) and there is no lack of bass. My only issue is that sometimes the tile can vibrate.

[robert L]

I have a dropped ceiling in my basement. I have one sub (nothing fancy) and there is no lack of bass. My only issue is that sometimes the tile can vibrate.

but how do u know for sure, maybe it is lacking bass, its not like u can rip the drop ceiling down and sheetrock real quick to compare

[GregLett]

but how do u know for sure, maybe it is lacking bass, its not like u can rip the drop ceiling down and sheetrock real quick to compare

Heck, if I'm missing any bass because of the dropped ceiling, then thank goodness! I have to turn my sub down. I can go from little bass to out right
ridiculous bass. With Full range speakers I turn the sub off. My other room which is smaller and has exposed brick walls
and a wooded dropped ceiling, needs even more low frequency control.

[robert L]

Heck, if I'm missing any bass because of the dropped ceiling, then thank goodness! I have to turn my sub down. I can go from little bass to out right
ridiculous bass. With Full range speakers I turn the sub off. My other room which is smaller and has exposed brick walls
and a wooded dropped ceiling, needs even more low frequency control.

ok thanks for your input, maybe that salesman was an iddiot, hope so, ive invested to much with my drop ceiling

[RobP]

Robert,

If you can, put your subwoofer where your normal seated listening position is, then move yourself around the room and see where the bass is most satisfying to you, then place your subwoofer in that spot and then see how the bass response is for you back in your listening position.

[robert L]

Robert,

If you can, put your subwoofer where your normal seated listening position is, then move yourself around the room and see where the bass is most satisfying to you, then place your subwoofer in that spot and then see how the bass response is for you back in your listening position.

sounds like an interesting idea ...ill try it ,thanx

[marky mark]

Robert,

If you can, put your subwoofer where your normal seated listening position is, then move yourself around the room and see where the bass is most satisfying to you, then place your subwoofer in that spot and then see how the bass response is for you back in your listening position.

i agree on RobP, also did you have your sub calibrated correctly with a spl meter?

[robert L]

i agree on RobP, also did you have your sub calibrated correctly with a spl meter?

no havent done that, will that really help, and where do i get 1

[marky mark]

you can get an spl (sound pressure meter) at radio shack (not sure if there is any more radio shack our there). for me, the sub was not calibrated correctly to the other speakers, the output from the sub was actually lower causing me to think the the sub was not producing enough bass (don't always trust your electronic to help calibrate you system) give it a try if you can get your hands on a spl meter (you can also use it for the rest of your speaker not just your sub to see if the output for all your speakers is the same), let me know how it worked out for you :T

[robert L]

you can get an spl (sound pressure meter) at radio shack (not sure if there is any more radio shack our there). for me, the sub was not calibrated correctly to the other speakers, the output from the sub was actually lower causing me to think the the sub was not producing enough bass (don't always trust your electronic to help calibrate you system) give it a try if you can get your hands on a spl meter (you can also use it for the rest of your speaker not just your sub to see if the output for all your speakers is the same), let me know how it worked out for you :T

cool, thanx mark

[NonSense]

Robert

I have a drop ceiling and I have had no LF issues. If anything, my sub is set to a very low level as it can really over power the room.

One other setting to check, which I don't believe was mentioned is the phase setting. The brand of Sub that I use has a linear phase adjustment (0-180). With the SPL meter and a calibration test tone, I adjust both level and phase of the sub to the proper level at the primary seating position. I find this offers a good result, as I am limited with regards to the placement of the sub in the room.

I adjust the phase of the sub, such that the SPL level peaks (at the primary seating position) at the LF crossover frequency. Then adjust the level to the desired SPL.

I believe the ASW750 only offers a 0/180 degree option but it should assist with adjusting the placement. You should be able to test this while performing the placement suggestions from Robert. Switching the phase will give you a second set of optimal placements, which may or may not be more suitable.

Cheers,