Best of High End
No Result
View All Result
  • Login
  • Academy
  • Awards
  • Factory visits
  • Tech talk
  • News
  • Reports
  • Reviews
Contact us
  • Academy
  • Awards
  • Factory visits
  • Tech talk
  • News
  • Reports
  • Reviews
No Result
View All Result
Best of High End
No Result
View All Result
Home Tech talk

Roland Hoffmann explains the difference between a sub and the LFE

Often mistaken as the same thing!

Marco Lisi by Marco Lisi
December 26, 2022
Reading Time: 2 mins read
0

Maybe surprising, the answer is no. The LFE channel needs to be reproduced in the best way, that is usually through a subwoofer. But it doesn’t has to be.

RELATED POSTS

Why do RoomPerfect measurements take some time?

How does RoomPerfect maps a room acoustically in 3D?

Why does RoomPerfect map the entire room?

Alternative approach

For example IMAX is treating all speakers as full range speakers. They don’t separate the bass and have an extra box rumbling around in the corner. They really want to immerse you with bass. So they take the LFE channel and spread it all around. This is another way, but usually you have a subwoofer.

roland-hoffmann-explains-the-difference-between-a-sub-and-the-LFE-3

Just woofer then?

Even though a subwoofer is a strange word because ‘sub-woofer’ implies that it’s only for the sub frequencies, something like 20Hz or 30Hz. But it’s not like that. As we know LFE can cover everything up to 120Hz. So it’s not ‘sub’ frequencies only. When you look at some frequency responses of some subwoofers, you often see this ‘church like’ frequency response with a peak around 80Hz. So they’re not really good at the frequencies below and they are not really good at the frequencies above either. That creates kind of performance gap between the front speakers or surround speakers and the subwoofer.

roland-hoffmann-explains-the-difference-between-a-sub-and-the-LF4

Subwoofer points of attention

It’s really important to look at the LFE specifications and see if your subwoofer is capable. Or is it really a subwoofer with a narrow performance? So one thing is the frequency, to look at it why we need a subwoofer for the LFE. The other thing is power. Most subwoofers are active. It’s like adding a mono amplifier. The low frequencies eat a lot of power. It’s also good to have a subwoofer with a separate amplifier channel. Then you have more power, more bandwidth left for the other channels. Is LFE and a subwoofer the same thing? No. But they kind of need each other.

roland-hoffmann-explains-the-difference-between-a-sub-and-the-LFE-2

Visit the Steinway Lyngdorf website.
Visit the Lyngdorf Audio website.

Tags: LFESubwoofers
Marco Lisi

Marco Lisi

I was playing vinyl when I was 3 years old. There was a song from the Rubettes that I liked a lot "Sugar Baby Love". My mother still cherishes the photo of me spinning that record! The audiophile was born. As an adult the video enthusiast in me woke up, making professional corporate movies. Here, at "Best of high end", I can indulge my audiovisual senses.

Related Posts

why-do-roomperfect-measurements-take-some-time
Tech talk

Why do RoomPerfect measurements take some time?

January 16, 2023
how-does-roomperfect-map-a-room-acoustially-in-3d
Tech talk

How does RoomPerfect maps a room acoustically in 3D?

January 16, 2023
why-does-roomperfect-map-the-entire-room
Tech talk

Why does RoomPerfect map the entire room?

December 26, 2022
why-is-using-2-ore-more-subwoofers-not-all-marketing
Tech talk

Why is using 2 or more subwoofers not all marketing?

December 26, 2022
is-one-subwoofer-enough-to-excite-the-room
Tech talk

Is one subwoofer enough to excite the room?

December 26, 2022
whats-the-best-position-for-the-subwoofer
Tech talk

What’s the best position for the subwoofer?

December 26, 2022
Next Post
Gato Audio Limited Edition

Gato Audio Limited Edition

roon-arc

Roon ARC

advertisement

Tag cloud

4K Acoustics Artnovion Audio Research Auro Technologies AV processors Bang & Olufsen Bowers & Wilkins Cables CD player CES 2018 DACs Dan D'Agostino Digital amplifiers Dolby Atmos Estelon Focal Genelec Gold Note HDR Headphone amplifiers Headphones High End® Integrated amplifiers Jean Marie Clauzel LG Loudspeakers Lyngdorf McIntosh OLED Panasonic Peter Lyngdorf Power amplifiers Preamplifiers Projectors Sony Steinway Lyngdorf StormAudio Streaming audio Studio monitors Subwoofers Turntables Ultra HD Vitus Audio Wireless speakers

advertisement

  • About us
  • Advertising
  • Contact
  • Terms and Conditions

© 2022 Best Of High End - by NOKYTECH

No Result
View All Result
  • Academy
  • Awards
  • Factory visits
  • Tech talk
  • News
  • Reports
  • Reviews

© 2022 Best Of High End - by NOKYTECH

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In