Easier subwoofer setup: Get better bass with Dirac Live Bass Control.

Bass quality is a crucial part of the overall audio experience. In fact, research by leading audio scientists shows that about 30% of the overall preference rating of a speaker system is directly attributed to the bass performance. It’s no wonder, then, that subwoofers are a popular purchase for home theatres and HiFi systems. But what exactly does a subwoofer do, and why is a correct subwoofer setup so hard to achieve? 

A subwoofer, technically speaking, is a specialized speaker designed to extend the bass range that your sound system can reproduce. For surround sound and immersive formats, it also plays back the Low Frequency Effects (LFE) channel. In simpler terms, a subwoofer handles the deep, rumbling bass that adds weight and impact to your music and movies. 

Lower frequencies equal larger wavelengths, and to reproduce these larger wavelengths in music without a subwoofer, your main speakers would need to be exceptionally powerful and large. This would not only take up more space in your living room but also a larger part of your wallet. 

Using a dedicated subwoofer offers several advantages: 

While subwoofers offer significant benefits, they come with a unique set of challenges. Unlike a full-range speaker where the bass is inherently aligned in level, time, and phase with the rest of the frequencies, separate subwoofers require careful setup to integrate seamlessly with your main speakers. 

To achieve this integration, subwoofers need: 

All these parameters must be dialled in carefully to align with the main speakers. And here lies the big problem — how do you know that you’ve set these four parameters correctly? 

Typically, you don’t. The usual method involves listening to some music, changing the settings, and trying to make sense of what you hear. Often, you can’t even change these settings from the sofa while you hear the result; you must use knobs on the rear panel of the subwoofer. This is why many people get confused and end up with suboptimal sound from their subwoofers, even though the subwoofer itself is a terrific way to get better bass. 

To complicate matters further, the room itself plays a crucial role in bass performance. At low frequencies, the room is as much a part of the speaker as the speaker itself. In typical home theatres and hi-fi systems, the room will cause bigger sound quality fluctuations than any other component in your system. Differences of 20 dB between different frequencies are typical — and 1 dB is the limit of where a sound level difference is clearly audible. 

What if there were an automated way to set up the subwoofer, calibrating it based on your actual room setup? Enter Dirac Live Bass Control. 

Bass Control is a technology included in many premium AV receivers and streaming amplifiers. It calibrates the subwoofer, including suggesting a cross-over frequency, based on measurements that you can do yourself with a microphone. 

Bass Control uses these measurements to improve how the subwoofer combines with the regular loudspeakers. It dials in the cross-over frequency, adjusts timing and gain, and importantly adjusts the phase at different frequencies to ensure seamless integration across your entire system. You can learn more about this process in our technical doc here.

Bass Control not only supports single-subwoofer systems but also co-optimizes multiple subwoofers for an even better experience. With more subwoofers, you can get more powerful bass and a more even bass experience across different seats. 

Using multiple subwoofers, it’s possible to smooth out sound differences and ensure consistent bass throughout your listening space. However, just as with a single subwoofer, there’s no guarantee that you will get better results just by having more subwoofers. This is where Bass Control shines — it ensures that the subwoofers sum up coherently and evens out the room acoustic performance variations. 

In home audio, proper calibration of your speakers for your room is becoming a must-have. As modern room décor often doesn’t allow for acoustic treatments or perfect speaker locations, Dirac Live Room Correction and Bass Control allow you to get exceptional sound experiences without changing your equipment or room layout. 

Bass Control automates the subwoofer setup and ensures superior sound experiences in your subwoofer-enabled system. It allows you to position your subwoofers where it makes sense for you, not in the acoustically best position which might be completely incompatible with your furniture and room design. 

With Bass Control, the reality that very few people manage to set up their subwoofers correctly can finally be put in the history books. And it’s not just for the most advanced home theatre systems — it makes a clearly audible difference to any sound system at any budget. If you’re looking to unlock the full potential of your audio setup, consider Bass Control. Your ears (and wallet) will thank you.