Subwoofer louder now.. kind of boomier

[webraider]

I was wondering if any one has any audio expertise. Recently I was mixing in Logic and there were some loud bass instruments we were using in logic. Now that I listen to my speakers on regular it "Seems" that the subwoofer is louder than it used to be. It seems a shade boomier. I examined the cone and surface of the speaker but I can't see that anything is visually wrong. I'm still getting alot of power from it but is it possible that it's blown a little bit? can a sub be partially blown and sound boomy? I'm thinking about the possibility of it separating from the magnet. Thanks for answering. (I'm thinking that maybe this psycological, I'm careful not to crank my speakers too loud for this very reason). Oh.. haven't noticed any distortion and it still really pushes air upward from the sub air vent. I just seems louder than it used to and my sound settings haven't really changed.

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

I was wondering if any one has any audio expertise. Recently I was mixing in Logic and there were some loud bass instruments we were using in logic. Now that I listen to my speakers on regular it "Seems" that the subwoofer is louder than it used to be. It seems a shade boomier. I examined the cone and surface of the speaker but I can't see that anything is visually wrong. I'm still getting alot of power from it but is it possible that it's blown a little bit? can a sub be partially blown and sound boomy? I'm thinking about the possibility of it separating from the magnet. Thanks for answering. (I'm thinking that maybe this psycological, I'm careful not to crank my speakers too loud for this very reason). Oh.. haven't noticed any distortion and it still really pushes air upward from the sub air vent. I just seems louder than it used to and my sound settings haven't really changed.

First, are you sure the subwoofer you used for mixing was properly calibrated in the first place? If it is not properly calibrated, then nothing you mix will be balanced on any system, as everything will be too loud. When mixing, always look for balance, even during bass heavy passages. Did you notice the boominess during mixing? Or did it suddenly occur when you listened at home?

Secondly is your subwoofer located near a corner or wall? If it is, pull it out slightly until the boom disappears. The booming is probably the result of a room related acoustical issue, and if your sub is near a boundary, it will emphasize the interaction.

[webraider]

First, are you sure the subwoofer you used for mixing was properly calibrated in the first place? If it is not properly calibrated, then nothing you mix will be balanced on any system, as everything will be too loud. When mixing, always look for balance, even during bass heavy passages. Did you notice the boominess during mixing? Or did it suddenly occur when you listened at home?

Secondly is your subwoofer located near a corner or wall? If it is, pull it out slightly until the boom disappears. The booming is probably the result of a room related acoustical issue, and if your sub is near a boundary, it will emphasize the interaction.

Sir Terrence.. You would probably laugh at me if you knew that speakers I'm reffering. I use headphones to do serious mixing, however my friend was actually doing to mixing on my computer and I stepped out for minute. When I came back he had the had it kind of loud and bass was stronger than I've had it. It's a consumer system so I very rarely every crank them more than half way up and in logic, some of the bass instruments are incredibly loud. Although the sound never split or distorted it was louder than I knew that sub could go.

The speaker is the soundsticksII from Harman Kardon. Hardly what I would call reference speakers although they've always been very clean sounding speakers. It's because they aren't professional speakers that I'm very conservative about the volume (Maybe more than I should be). It's not a big subwoofer so I'm afraid of it blowing. That said it is an accurate sub (not particularly boomy, for example great with plucked bass when listening to Jazz etc..). It's not really the sound that's bad.. it just seems to be emphasizing the kicks of drums louder than it used to, meaning I can actually feel more floor shake more at softer volumes when I didn't notice it before. It's really almost like the sub is louder than it used to be at the same setting before. I was wondering if that was a sign of a blown speaker. There is not distortion, bass is still tight.. just seems a little louder. I checked the subs individual balance and it's at the same setting. That said I pushed it back further under my desk and it seems to be a little better. I have a tile floor.

I examined the very front of the speaker and there are not tears.. foam is still good and it looks brand new even though I've had it for 2 years. It could be that the sub can handle much more sound than I've thrown at it, and I'm just too careful not to turn them up. (I'm always careful with ANY sub cause bass these days is not joke on alot of mixes). As I said.. I think some of what I'm hearing is phsycological.

I was hoping to upgrade to Blue Sky Media Desk but to be honest.. the sound sticks actually sound VERY good considering their size and that they are consumer speakers. I just have brought myself to upgrade. I know that once I do I will notice a difference but sometimes ignorance isn't to bad.

[webraider]

Okay.. After examining my subwoofer, I did discover that the volume was up a little more than It was originally. I had moved it a little bit and it's possible that it got pushed up a little bit while I moved it. It has a visual indicator and although I had looked at it, it had inched up a little bit. (Not really that much..As I stated.. It was really just a louder bass balance than what i was used to and it was literally moving the floor at lower volumes. I had felt it do that before but not as low as it was.) My friends were assuring me that any subwoofer that can move a floor is probably not blown. I hope they are right. It seems to be better now. The factory setting on these I find to be pretty good and that's exactly half way up. The knob doesn't lock in there though and it can move if nudged.. It only has a visual indicator.

[02audionoob]

Maybe it would help if you could find a way to reduce the amount of vibration the subwoofer transfers to the floor.