Country Music and Subwoofers

[Cafad]

I realize that there are people (perhaps even many) who use subwoofers for listening to music.  I'm not a fan of this idea but that isn't important, it is a growing trend.

 

However... is there anyone out there, anyone at all, who listens to Country and Western music with a subwoofer?

 

I just have to know.

[awayward]

4 minutes ago, Cafad said:

I realize that there are people (perhaps even many) who use subwoofers for listening to music.  I'm not a fan of this idea but that isn't important, it is a growing trend.

 

However... is there anyone out there, anyone at all, who listens to Country and Western music with a subwoofer?

 

I just have to know.

I don’t, but any music genre with bass will get a benefit with a sub, IMO 

[rantan]

20 minutes ago, Cafad said:

I realize that there are people (perhaps even many) who use subwoofers for listening to music.  I'm not a fan of this idea but that isn't important, it is a growing trend.

 

However... is there anyone out there, anyone at all, who listens to Country and Western music with a subwoofer?

 

I just have to know.

Never in a million years.

 

I really don't like subs at all and rarely,  if ever, listen to C&W

[LogicprObe]

7 minutes ago, rantan said:

Never in a million years.

 

I really don't like subs at all and rarely,  if ever, listen to C&W

 

Yet..............you clicked on this thread...................bored?

[rantan]

2 minutes ago, LogicprObe said:

 

Yet..............you clicked on this thread...................bored?

 

No. He asked the question.

 

There was no requirement for a yes answer

 

Bored?

 

Edit: Also I find it cathartic to tell people how I don't like subs. One is almost guaranteed a reaction which is always fun

Edited February 17, 2018 by rantan

[LogicprObe]

 

I don't like them either!

 

Especially at concerts!

[keyse1]

57 minutes ago, Cafad said:

I realize that there are people (perhaps even many) who use subwoofers for listening to music.  I'm not a fan of this idea but that isn't important, it is a growing trend.

 

However... is there anyone out there, anyone at all, who listens to Country and Western music with a subwoofer?

 

I just have to know.

I listen to country music all the time

what is the point of the question

what would a sub woofer do to banjos or fiddles or steel guitars

[t_mike]

I've never heard doof-doof with a southern drawl.

[Cafad]

The point to the question, or at least the reason behind it, is that my new neighbours have a sub and a few afternoons ago I heard it making its subby sounds.  Sounds that were not recognizable as being associated with any music at all.  I put up with it for a few minutes (that felt like hours) and then, out of curiosity, decided to take out my trash to have a listen to what they were playing.

The song was "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers. 

The use of a sub with it made me shake my head in dismay.

[cafe67]

Don’t listen to c+w at along along with heavy metal and crap , does c+w have no bass , wouldn’t they ( the bands) have a drummer ? 

[Cafad]

31 minutes ago, cafe67 said:

Don’t listen to c+w at along along with heavy metal and crap , does c+w have no bass , wouldn’t they ( the bands) have a drummer ? 

Nothing that would need a sub, at least in my opinion.

[Naidan]

I listen to quite a bit of older county, Charlie Pride, Tom T Hall etc. Never used or needed a sub, I would think for most country especially harmony heavy like bluegrass etc. it would only take away from the overall experience.

[Guest deanB]

There's country music and there's country music. Maybe a sub would be handy sometimes.

[audiofeline]

Early recordings of country (ie, 78's) would probably not benefit much from a sub.  From the 1950's onward country music has been recorded like any other popular music, and the reproduction of it is no different.  Popular country music this century uses all the modern recording technology that other popular music is recorded by, as Slim Dusty said in one of his 1990's songs that country music is now "rock and roll with a cowboy hat". 

 

So I'm sure that if you want to listen to Keith Urban or Garth Brookes that, depending on your system, a sub may enhance it.  I doubt that a sub would convert people to loving country music if they already dislike it. 

[Snoopy8]

On 2/17/2018 at 10:38 PM, Cafad said:

The song was "The Gambler" by Kenny Rogers.

It does have some lower notes, but the sub you heard was badly integrated and bass over boosted. Over boosted bass, regardless of genre, is my pet hate, especially the DOOF, DOOF, DOOF of passing vehicles. 

 

(Please do not jump on me, burn me on cross!) I run dual subs.  It is NOT to boost the low notes but restore loss of bass due to the room. There is a lack of body without the subs. Well integrated subs bring back the body to the music, especially for those who do not have a dedicated room, cannot do room treatments. (Please put out the fire on the cross!).

 

p/s I do listen to the more popular country ones, but cannot say I am a big fan.

[andyr]

On ‎17‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 8:38 PM, rantan said:

Never in a million years.

 

I can agree with you there (re. C & W)! 

 

On ‎17‎/‎02‎/‎2018 at 8:38 PM, rantan said:

I really don't like subs at all

 

So you wouldn't like a system which has stand-mounts (that don't deliver much below 60Hz) plus a pair of "subs" which can deliver to 20 Hz ... but you would like a system which - instead of standmounts plus subs - had, say, a pair of massive Duntechs that could deliver 20Hz?

 

Doesn't make sense to me - as both systems have bass drivers which are capable of delivering 20Hz??

 

Unless your viewpoint comes from listening to people's systems where they have turned up the subs so much (because they can!) that they've broken the normal relationship between bass notes and the rest of the frequency range ... whereas those who have the Duntechs can't mess with the relative levels of the drivers?

 

Having added subs to my Maggies about 18 months ago, there is no way I would go back to my previous setup, without them.  They just add so much to the music. 

 

Andy

[andyr]

32 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said:

Well integrated subs bring back the body to the music, especially for those who do not have a dedicated room, cannot do room treatments.

Hear hear!! 

 

Andy

 

[Cafad]

I heard the sub again this morning, for about 5 minutes my flat reverberated with bass and then it stopped.  I have no idea if there was meant to be any music or other sound associated with the bass, perhaps they were playing with the settings.

 

OK, I'll keep my kerosene in the cupboard for now Snoopy, I know different rooms can do some very strange things and it can be difficult to set things right.  I've never had a need for a sub, even when I did have one.  I quite liked the sub for TV and movies but I never used it for music.

 

I really can't abide bad bass, and the amount of effort that is required to integrated a sub with a system just seems to be more than most people are willing to put in.  Admittedly it really only bothers me when I can hear it, which is why I've been able to keep quiet about it until last week.

 

 

[Snoopy8]

13 minutes ago, Cafad said:

OK, I'll keep my kerosene in the cupboard for now Snoopy,

14 minutes ago, Cafad said:

I know different rooms can do some very strange things and it can be difficult to set things right.  I've never had a need for a sub, even when I did have one.  I quite liked the sub for TV and movies but I never used it for music.

I run dual subs for 2 channel & multi=channel music, as well as movies.  As Andy says below..

18 minutes ago, andyr said:

Having added subs to my Maggies about 18 months ago, there is no way I would go back to my previous setup, without them.  They just add so much to the music. 

I agree, cannot go back. 

 

People tend to focus on how low the mains go but do not realise that the bass range has been compromised by the room, until they hear the difference.  Please note that room treatment should be the preferred first step, then introduce subs.

23 minutes ago, Cafad said:

I really can't abide bad bass, and the amount of effort that is required to integrated a sub with a system just seems to be more than most people are willing to put in. 

It is not easy to do yourself and even harder to get right.  There is also the mental barrier to overcome from a pure 2 channel viewpoint.

 

What's that smell?   Kerosene ??? 

[surprisetech]

We listen to a little country music, but a sub is used only in the caravan where a little Yamaha sub under the bed (with sensible settings) nicely augments the little wall-mount speakers in the TSX-10 system.

 

Most country bands have an upright or electric bass and a drummer, so if the other speakers are lacking extension, then a properly implemented sub could be of benefit - same as with any other genre.

 

Problem with a lot of popular music of any genre, is that the drum & bass parts are often rather dull, so when heard in isolation from the rest of the music can be more annoying.

[JukKluk2]

There is nothing more satisfying than having music delivered from a system that is capable of reproducing the full range from the deepest lows through to the highest of highs, or at least as near as dammit as you can get. True full range can be an expensive exercise, as can the almost but not quite, but it’s worth it. I’m in the almost but not quite group myself having recently acquired a pair of Martin Logan ESL 13 Expressions. Even the ML Vantage’s that I had in the system before were no slouches.
Of course, not every recording is full range and sometimes you can be disappointed when hearing, after a system upgrade of this type, some music that you previously had considered to be full range turn out to have simply been at the limits of your previous set up. What used to sound open and free now sounds closed in and constrained, not an uncommon turn of events for those of us who sail these waters I think.
Some folk, the doof doof mob especially, seem to think that more is better than none at all and crank it up to eleven as a starting point. That way madness and a series of splitting headaches lies. Balance is what it should be about.
Anyone with a sub, separate or as part of the speaker system (a la Martin Logan), has at some time turned it up to the max and wallowed in the outcome. Most of us have, after a while, then fine tuned the output to get the music sounding right. Part of the process is realising that not every recording is perfect and/or correctly balanced from top to bottom. If you’re listening to a solo flute or piccolo and the subs are making your pants legs flap then it’s time to rethink your settings.
A sub that is properly integrated into a system allows you to hear the music as it was intended, as long as it is properly balanced of course. If music was a visual medium the lack of low frequency content would make the listening experience similar to our sight being limited to only seeing from yellow to violet in a spectrum. Try that setting on your tv and you won’t like it I’m sure. Once you’ve gone full range (or thereabouts) it’s very difficult to go back. I remember years ago when all I had was a cheap “record player” that I thought Carl Palmer’s drum sound on the ELP LPs was thin and tinny. As my system has increased in quality his drum sound has improved remarkably. I wonder how he’s managed that?
Full range, where possible, should be encouraged at all times as far as I am concerned. If that is via full range speakers or the addition of a sub woofer or two doesn’t concern me. It’s the end result that matters.