Why does treble seem so much louder than bass?

[budgetkiller 10+ year member]

This is something I've wondered for a while now. Why is it that can run a component speaker off 50 watts and it seems every bit as loud as the subwoofer running off 150? I'm just not sure why proportionally people run 300 watts to the doors and 1000 to the subs and it sounds balanced. Is it the efficientcy or our ear's sensitivity or...? Don't be afraid to get technical here.

On a side note, why does home audio seem so much louder for the watt? Is it just because you hear it in an open room or because the manufacturer maximizes what they have to work with or..? I've noticed that a 200w home amp is a LOT more powerful than a 200w car amp. (and no, im not referring to peak watts) I'm also amazed a 150watt subwoofer can rattle my house. are these "watts" measured differently or something?

I know this could almost be two threads, but I figured somebody can probably answer both. thanks guys

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[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Has to do with the ability for the sound wave to travel through a medium. Treble frequencies (what the tweeters play) have much more energy than bass frequencies.

One the other hand, bass frequencies can better permeate material, which is why you can feel bass through several walls, but not the treble.

 

[dragnix 5,000+ posts]

You're looking at a much lighter moving mass for highs vs. the lows. Doesn't take much to move 5grams vs. 100grams

 

[budgetkiller 10+ year member]

ahhh that makes sense. thank you. and No idea on the home AC audio wattages?

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Efficiency and sealed design in home audio. Much easier to project sound in a room vs a car

 

[budgetkiller 10+ year member]

Efficiency and sealed design in home audio. Much easier to project sound in a room vs a car

makes sense i guess. So a home amp doing 50wrms at 60hz @4ohm does the exact same power as a car amp doing 50wrms at 60hz @4ohm?

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Not so much power as it is projection of sound

 

[LosIsATool 5,000+ posts]

makes sense i guess. So a home amp doing 50wrms at 60hz @4ohm does the exact same power as a car amp doing 50wrms at 60hz @4ohm?

Yes

 

[Kangaroux 5,000+ posts]

It's only louder because our ears perceive it as being louder. The lower the frequency the higher the pressure needed for it to seem the same loudness. Think of it as the lower frequency you go, you hear it less and feel it more. So to compensate you need higher pressure to get the job done. To achieve a higher sound pressure level you need both cone area and power (ever seen an 18" tweeter?)

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

It's only louder because our ears perceive it as being louder. The lower the frequency the higher the pressure needed for it to seem the same loudness. Think of it as the lower frequency you go, you hear it less and feel it more. So to compensate you need higher pressure to get the job done. To achieve a higher sound pressure level you need both cone area and power (ever seen an 18" tweeter?)

Nope, because with a cone that large you wouldn't get much for high frequencies, period. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Nope, because with a cone that large you wouldn't get much for high frequencies, period. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif

Meh, maybe with a planar magnetic...those things can recreate a crazy spectrum

 

[Why So Cereal? 5,000+ posts]

Meh, maybe with a planar magnetic...those things can recreate a crazy spectrum

Still a stretch

 

[neo_styles 10+ year member]

Yep.

 

[wickedwitt 10+ year member]

There are many reasons why, most of which have been covered. I just wanted to reiterate what Roux said: The human tympanic eardrum is attuned to frequencies 200-16,000 hz more so than frequencies above or below them. It takes much more amplitude of a sound wave at 40hz to get the same eardrum response out of 1000hz (our "peak" frequency). Same goes for above our hearing spectrum. A dog whistle is something like 120db, but we (the vast majority of us) don't hear it at all. Our eardrums simply do not respond to the frequency. Hurts the crap out of dogs, however.

 

[zako 10+ year member]

Look at the free air sensitivity of a typical component or coaxial speaker. Is it something like 90db 1 W/1meter? Take a look at a typical 12 inch subwoofer: about 85-86dBs 1watt/1meter (if you see sensitivity being quoted at 89dB or higher, that's almost certainly based on a different measurement method). Yes, our ears are more sensitive in the mid and upper midrange region too. So, it's perfectly normal to run 2-3 times more power to sub stage compared to front stage.