What exactly is a mid bass woofer?

If I read it correctly, the mid bass is exactly what how it's read. It's bass, but not that low, like subs that produces the lows. Mid bass helps bring out the bass and the vocals. But it's not ground pounding, like subs.

Question:

If the sub woofer create the lows, that the ear can't really hear, then what's the point of the sub.? If we want rich base, and quality of music, wouldn't mid bass woofers do a better job?

 

Well, most people accept the defining line between a mid-bass driver and a sub as being able to produce sub-60Hz frequencies cleanly and loudly (powerful without distortion). We can supposedly hear down to 20Hz (tho most people aren't that good), but we can all hear at least down to the 35Hz range if your ears are in decent condition. A mid-bass driver won't be able to hit that low a frequency at all, and the lowest frequencies they hit are not produced with perfect clarity or with very much strenght. Subs add the lower extension of frequencies that was a part of the music and mid-bass drivers just can't reproduce those frequencies well enough. I like using mid-bass drivers down to about 90Hz. From there, I let the sub take over since it does that job best. If you're concerned about response and crispness, then get a smaller sub that reacts quicker and maybe look into some metal cone (aluminum or titanium) subs for the added clarity. If you're not into boom, a good 8" (or even JL's 6.5" 6W0) is a perfect addition to complete the system. The point of a good audio system is for us to hear the music the way it was originally intended. Most music has frequencies going below 60Hz, so it's best to use drivers that can easily reproduce those frequencies best.

 

Thanks for the response.

I was advise to turn up the EQ settings on the 50hz. I have it at +12. The reason is to get more boom for rap/hip hop. That means I'm actually running at 62hz. Do you agree? The booms seem to be sharper to me.

Going back to understanding this. With the EQ setting of 62hz does that mean I lost the lows, and my sub is basically pretending to be a mid bass?

TIA

 

If you are using a 3 way component set, a 6.5" woofer typically can play as low as 60Hz if you have enough power going to them. There are 7" and 8" midbass drivers too. The larger the midbass, the larger the subwoofer can be. The higher the frequency being reproduced, the lighter the cones needs to be and vice versa. The term midbass loosely refers to the driver that play the frequencies between the subwoofer and midrange in the bandwidth of roughly 90 to 300HZ and is found in 3 way component systems. In a 2 way system, this woofer is usually referred to as a "midrange", since it covers all the frequencies between the subwoofer and the tweeter. If you add 1 midrange to a 6.5" component speaker set, you can always run the highpass crossover point lower for the now midbass woofer. You'll get better midbass attack if you apply enough amplifier power. Midbass is the usually missing in a vehicle, especially when 2 way speakers set for the front are relocated to the kickpanel for better imagining with equalized pathlengths, but most car "midranges" or "midbasses" are designed for infinite baffle/free air mounting, so they loose midbass when this is done.

The subwoofer used to play frequencies in the 20Hz or higher depending on the enclosure design) and 90Hz or between 60Hz to 100Hz depending on the limitations of the next larger speaker, the midrange or midbass.

If you want an accurate sounding system, covering the entire audible bandwidth between 20Hz and 20kHz (as accurately as possible) you NEED a subwoofer. It is the only speaker which is designed for reproducing music in the 20Hz to 80 region. Subbass adds substance and creates a foundation for the music, regardless of what you listen to.....


Trust me on this one.... I played MB Quart tech support for 2 years.




[Modified by dc24me, 11:12 PM 7/20/2001]

 

No, when you adjust the EQ at a certain frequency, what you're changing is the gain at that particular frequency, NOT the frequency itself. A +12 adjustment on the EQ is a +12dB gain that you're adding to the signal centered at the frequency 50Hz. Basically, you're making 50Hz really strong (amplifying it) and the surrouding frequencies stronger also (how many surrounding frequencies depends on the roll-off of your EQ). Put it to whatever sounds good to you. +12dB may be too loud or boomy (depending on tastes and system design) for some people. Don't listen to others on what exact specifics to tune your system to. Do what sounds good to you. Just ask them the underlying basics, like what you asked here about what changing the gain on the EQ does. With this knowledge, you can tune your system to your tastes and not someone elses'. HTH.