House curve...boost filter...what's the difference?

[tdamocles]

I'm getting geared up to setup a BFD with my sub and was wondering what the difference between a boost filter and a house curve would be if boosting more than 5db isn't recommended? I've seen a housecurve of 0db@80hz to 8db@30hz...Isn't this actually boosting with a filter?

[brucek]

I've seen a housecurve of 0db@80hz to 8db@30hz...Isn't this actually boosting with a filter?

Some people get lucky and corner positioning of their sub adds room gain at the lower end and so there's no problem. But if your lower end is rather flat and you want a house curve, perhaps 8dB may be asking too much.

The usual method if you want to add a house curve is to increase the sub amp gain by the desired boost, set the input level to the BFD and then "cut" at the higher frequencies in the BFD rather than "boost" the lower frequencies. You can go too far though and end up with too low a level leaving the BFD at the upper frequencies to properly drive the sub.
The one caveat is always to drive the BFD with the best possible input level and then cut within reason.

brucek