Music/Movie Switch = Slam/Depth Switch???

[Daddy Cool]

Hi folks,

Been havin' a bit of bother correctly balancing my sub into my new HT set-up (please see kit below). Anyway's, my sub has a "Movie/Music" switch (switch it to one or the other - as the manual suggests - dependant upon source material ), am I right in assuming this is similar to the "Slam/Depth" switch that features on REL etc subs (used to have one quite a while ago).

I recently read that "...the 'Slam' position will increase the SPL output between 40Hz-150Hz but at the expense of bass extension, whereas the 'Depth' mode affords maximum low frequency output and a near flat response..." and that further investigation suggests that most audiophiles choose to avoid the 'Slam' mode for the very reason(s) detailed above.

So, can anyone shed any further light on this 'Movie/Music' mode , and if possible, suggest which one I ought to avoid using? My sincere thanks in advance.

Best wishes,

DC

[Darren]

My best guess would be that there is a single band parametric eq setting for the switch. When you flip it to Movie you get a boost in a specific region. When it is set to music it removes that boost. That's the only thing I can think of. So, my assumption is the movie setting has an artifical "dynamics" due to the boost. I'd prefer it flat myself unless you happen to have a room null at the frequencies it is boosting.

[Daddy Cool]

Darren wrote:

My best guess would be that there is a single band parametric eq setting for the switch. When you flip it to Movie you get a boost in a specific region. When it is set to music it removes that boost...

Hi Darren

Many thanks. Yeah, I wholeheartedly agree with your 'assumption'- you can't be too far out, but the confusiing thing is 'deciding' which mode introduces the artificial boost; movie or music

Darren wrote:

So, my assumption is the movie setting has an artifical "dynamics" due to the boost. I'd prefer it flat myself unless you happen to have a room null at the frequencies it is boosting.

Again, I'm with you 100% on this. AFAIK, my room isn't null, and I do want it flat; but takin' your assumption one step further, why do ya go for the movie mode introducing the boost and not the music? Personally, I wouldn't know which to plump for, but a brief test I did this afternoon, had the music mode sounding a bit louder/deeper/boomier. Could this be the effect of the 'boost' or the very contrary

Thanks again for the advice Darren,

Best regards,

DC

[Darren]

I guessed it was the movie mode because with movies it appears more dynamic if you boost certain frequencies. With music it is more desireable to have a flatter response.

Flat is actually not very listenable with a subwoofer, it is rather lifeless which is why a house curve is a popular thing, or corner loading.

I could be wrong about which mode has the boost but that would be my guess... try playing music with the movie setting and swith it back and forth on a bass track you know well, if it is more boomy or punchy with the movie setting then you know that's where the boost is. You'll need something that goes down below 40hz probably.

[Daddy Cool]

Darren wrote:

I guessed it was the movie mode because with movies it appears more dynamic if you boost certain frequencies. With music it is more desireable to have a flatter response.

Flat is actually not very listenable with a subwoofer, it is rather lifeless which is why a house curve is a popular thing, or corner loading.

I could be wrong about which mode has the boost but that would be my guess... try playing music with the movie setting and swith it back and forth on a bass track you know well, if it is more boomy or punchy with the movie setting then you know that's where the boost is. You'll need something that goes down below 40hz probably.

Thanks a bunch. I see what you're gettin at. I'll try the music test tomorrow. To be fair, I did consider ringin' Sony and asking 'em if they could tell me; then I came to my senses and decided it'd be a complete waste of time (and phone cost etc). And info is very scarce about my sub

Anyway, I'll get back to yoa and let ya know the outcome. Cheers again

DC

[khellandros66]

Those take into account how much mechanical stress is put on the driver in that range. When you boost the dB level at that range it also effects the slope and where it hits the xmax.

Alot of times these switches are made to boost music which usually doesn't go deep 30Hz range is typical. So it boosts that SPL and has a steeper cutoff, say 40dB/octave below 25Hz. In the movie mode the sub doesn't feature boost but the cut off is perhaps 24dB/octave below 25Hz.

~Bob

[brucek]

Why not just do a simple frequency response check of your sub and find out what the switch does?

[Daddy Cool]

khellandros66 wrote:

...Alot of times these switches are made to boost music which usually doesn't go deep 30Hz range is typical. So it boosts that SPL and has a steeper cutoff, say 40dB/octave below 25Hz. In the movie mode the sub doesn't feature boost but the cut off is perhaps 24dB/octave below 25Hz...

Many thanks for this reply Bob,

It seems that you may be right and that the 'music' mode introduces an 'artificial' boost; not the 'movie' mode. Please see below...

brucek wrote:

Why not just do a simple frequency response check of your sub and find out what the switch does?

...and thanks Bruce,

I kinda did -following Darren's suggestion I used a relatively bass heavy stereo CD track (that would obviously bring the xover into play etc), audibly AND SPL meter testing the reaction to the different 'modes'. After about 15 minutes, it was clear that the 'music' mode sounded a bit 'boomier' and the SPL reading seems to back-up my conclusion as it was reading about 3db higher with 'music' mode as opposed to 'movie' mode.

So do you guys think I'd be right to conclude that the 'music' mode introduces the artificial boost and that the movie mode would offer the max low frequency/flatest output

My sincere thanks for your responses so far guys, its been a big help.

All the best,

DC

[brucek]

I kinda did

I meant for you to do a full low frequency response test with Excel graph using one of THESE .xls Excel spreadsheets (depending on the meter you're using), combined with these test tones.

There will be no guessing when you're done....

brucek

[khellandros66]

DC,

I have seen these so called beneficial switches on Yamaha subs, including the one in my bro's room and my dad's. Both of which sound best in the Movie mode.

~Bob