I’ve been a long-time car audio bass-head (having designed and built countless subwoofer enclosures) for over 3 decades, but still consider myself a noob when it comes to HT (even having built centre channel, rear surrounds and ceiling speaker enclosures)…

 

I’ve been trying to learn more about why my wife complains “it’s too loud” when she is in the house (or even in the street in front of the house) and I’ve not even got the volume at 1/3 in the HT (which is in a detached building from the house) - and I can’t even feel any bass at all. (Maybe she’s hyper-sensitive to LF and I’m de-sensitised to it after all these years of subs in cars?).

Reading up on the avs forums I found a very long-winded thread which mentioned a lot about “tactile response” and the adverse affect a concrete floor can have on this function. (Not sure if I can link to the thread here https://www.avsforum.com/threads/guide-to-subwoofer-calibration-and-bass-preferences.2958528/?post_id=55725252&nested_view=1&sortby=oldest#aname-Section VIII - that might not link directly to the relevant section of the thread/article).

 

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to get better “bass response” within the HT room rather than it seemingly escaping to everywhere else.  I’ve read up and watched videos on bass traps, sound deadening, sound proofing, but I don’t know if any or all of these would work or be needed. None has been installed yet.

I haven’t yet done a “bass crawl” to find the sweet spot for the subwoofers, but I expect the room correction feature in the Pioneer VSX-935 would at least compensate for the nulls.

 

FWIW, room is approx 4.7m wide, 4m deep and 2.3m to ceiling, with 2x 12” ported subwoofers (in separate enclosures, presently not tuned to identical Hz; one about 30Hz and other at 25Hz) with 30Hz one located in a corner (approx 30cm from the couch, so most of the tactile bass is  likely near-field due to proximity of enclosure to the couch), and the 25Hz one is beneath centre channel (which is slightly off-centre). Ceiling insulation is approx 6” thick (even around and above the in-ceiling speakers), however walls only have 70mm studs but still have insulation throughout.  I get the expected tactile response at high volumes (but if it’s that impressive in the room at high volume, I’d hate to think how loud it is outside the room when my wife’s already complaining at <1/3 volume).

 

The tiny Cerwin Vega dual-8” powered sub in the living room seems to have more tactile response than the 12’s in the HT. (My wife hates that too). 

 

 

Have you considered decoupling your subwoofers from the floor and see if that improves things? When subwoofers sit directly on concrete, the bass energy might travel through the structure.

Your Pioneer processor will help, but it's never going to fix room modes. That comes down to sub positioning (and your floor crawl influencing this) and your room's dimensions and construction materials.  You could consider bass traps in room corners to improve bass performance, but this isn't just a "hope and pray" exercise.  I would consider engaging someone like @CORSINI Acoustic Solutions to help with measuring the room's performance and optimising the positioning of your subwoofers before plunking any cash down for bass traps. 

 

There are electronic solutions you can use to deal with bass issues and perform electronic trapping, but that gets into a whole other space in terms of cost.

Hi @basshead,

You're identifying two distinct issues, and it's great you're separating them — because each has a different root cause and solution path:

1. Noise Transmission (Why it’s loud outside)

This is a sound isolation issue — not an acoustics or subwoofer calibration problem. You're likely dealing with:

Airborne noise, particularly in the low-frequency range (20–80 Hz), which is incredibly difficult to contain.

Structure-borne vibration (impact noise), especially if the subwoofers are coupled directly to a concrete slab, which transmits energy through the structure like a drumhead.

Fixing this requires soundproofing, not just treatment:

Decoupling the walls, ceiling, and potentially the floor from the structure (using resilient channels, isolated stud framing, or room-within-a-room techniques).

Adding mass and damping (e.g. double walls with Green Glue, loaded vinyl barriers).

Sealing air gaps, as low-frequency energy escapes through even the smallest openings.

 

 

2. Bass Performance (Why it’s weak inside)

This is an acoustic treatment and optimization issue:

Without bass traps or measurement-informed subwoofer placement, you’re likely sitting in nulls where bass pressure cancels out.

Your room dimensions (4.7m x 4m x 2.3m) are quite small and prone to modal overlap, leading to peaks, nulls, and uneven response.

Recommendations:

Measure the room using REW + a calibrated mic to identify standing waves and decay times.

Perform a subwoofer crawl to optimize placement.

Consider corner bass traps and possibly electronic solutions like DSP, multi-sub optimization, or even AVAA units for active low-frequency absorption (if budget allows).

Feel free to reach out if you’re considering a more technical analysis. We specialize in both acoustic treatment and isolation design for high-performance rooms like yours.

— Cristian Corsini
CORSINI Acoustic Solutions
www.corsini.com.au

On 08/05/2025 at 10:21 PM, basshead said:

I was wondering if anyone had any ideas on how to get better “bass response” within the HT room rather than it seemingly escaping to everywhere else.

For tactile/visceral bass response, you could try one of the "bass shaker" solutions on your listening chair/couch - plenty of DIY options.

 

On 09/05/2025 at 11:08 AM, BugPowderDust said:

Have you considered decoupling your subwoofers from the floor and see if that improves things? When subwoofers sit directly on concrete, the bass energy might travel through the structure.

Don't use spikes - spikes couple the energy, not decouple. Try sorbothane pads instead.

 

IMVHO allowing the bass to escape to everywhere else provides a much easier path to great "in room" bass...as it doesn't keep the bass inside the room, bouncing around taking ages to decay...the downside is the bass leaks out annoying others 😞 

 

As @CORSINI Acoustic Solutions points out, sound proofing/sound isolation is a very different requirement to achieving great "in room" bass!

 

Sound proofing/sound isolation is best achieved during construction, as Cristian @CORSINI Acoustic Solutions points out:

On 09/05/2025 at 12:45 PM, CORSINI Acoustic Solutions said:

(using resilient channels, isolated stud framing, or room-within-a-room techniques).

You can't significantly change the sound proofing/sound isolation properties of a room, once it's built.

 

As above, muck with sub/speaker placement to improve the sound at the listening position.

It's completely expected for the bass response to change throughout the room - a measurement mic and the sub crawl will assist in achieving great bass response at the listening position.

 

I love my lightly constructed/leaky room - which lets all the bass out!

I have awesome "in room" bass - fortunately, I have a tolerant family/neighbours 👍

 

Mike

2 hours ago, almikel said:

IMVHO allowing the bass to escape to everywhere else provides a much easier path to great "in room" bass...as it doesn't keep the bass inside the room, bouncing around taking ages to decay...the downside is the bass leaks out annoying others 😞 

 

Absolutely! A poorly constructed house is both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because you get "free" bass treatment. The bass leaks out the room and you get fewer in-room bass issues. A curse because it lets outside noise in, and lets your music go outside and bother your neighbours. 

 

I would pay particular attention to what Corsini said. A lot of those problems are due to construction, but there are still steps you can take to improve your situation. The most important is to seal air gaps. This not only lowers your noise floor, but saves you energy bills. 

On 08/05/2025 at 10:21 PM, basshead said:

with 30Hz one located in a corner

Gday

Had similar issues with an all timber, suspended hardwood  floor, house.

It was a big job to fix, as in double plaster walls, double glazing, huge wall panels of weighted membrane bass traps, ceiling trapping and moving the speakers  many times. Speaker isolation with large sorbothane pads.

As like the Members suggest above, it's a combination of a few things going on.

 

De coupling (acoustically and physically) the ported sub from the corner loading might help, If your main speakers are also  loaded into corners, it would help to bring them into the room away from the walls, and even up off the floor That and physical decoupling speakers/subs vibration damping as suggested.

If just doing that helps, all good, beyond that though some bass trapping will help quite a lot.

 

Measurement below of system "resonance" beyond the fundamental, before sorbothane bumpers added to the enclosures and after. Tactility resolved,,,,,

 

Have you thought of turning a negative into a positive ?

 

will.