Engineers and audiophiles talk about the spectrum of sound as spanning 20Hz to 20,000Hz. That’s only partially correct. Most adults can’t hear above 14kHz. More importantly, humans in general don’t actually hear 20Hz very well either. But everyone—the deaf and hearing alike—can feel 120Hz and 20Hz, and even lower. In fact, hearing” deep bass is mostly feeling it.
Bass perception happens along an audio-tactile spectrum. The lowest notes are sensed primarily with the skin, and the highest primarily with the ear, but all of them are naturally perceived as a mix of both senses. That’s a big part of the reason why it is so hard to get that live sound” feeling with headphones—normal headphones can’t produce a critical aspect of the live experience.
Does frequency response down to 30Hz, 20Hz, and below matter? The answer is yes.” Rock, hip-hop, and EDM have huge amounts of energy at those levels.
Jazz and orchestral music, plus movies and games do, too. If you’ve never heard your favorite music on a system that can reproduce ALL the frequencies that are present in the recording, you will probably be shocked to learn how much you have been missing.
So how can you get deep bass? Producing low frequency acoustic sound at high volumes means moving a lot of air. A good home theater subwoofer can have drivers that are 15” or more in diameter. A PA system for a stadium concert can have hundreds of them.
When those giant speakers crank up, you don’t just hear them—you feel them. Your skin vibrates. Your organs vibrate. And for most people) your brain interprets that vibration as sound, even though it mostly isn’t being processed by what you normally think of as hearing.
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