Skip to main content ↑ ↓

Notice

Please note that most of the software linked on this forum is likely to be safe to use. If you are unsure, feel free to ask in the relevant topics, or send a private message to an administrator or moderator. To help curb the problems of false positives, or in the event that you do find actual malware, you can contribute through the article linked here.
Topic: Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level? (Read 4273 times) previous topic - next topic
0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

i have altec lansing ATP3 speakers that have a subwoofer, and some pretty decent sony headphones. i also have a soundblaster live!

the problem is, for some god-awful reason, altec lansing shipped these speakers with a subwoofer that is simply WAY TOO LOUD. even with the bass knob on the speakers turned all the way down, it is still unacceptably loud and dominant in music. I have these speakers plugged into the 'front speakers' port of the soundcard, and my headphones plugged into the 'rear speakers' (or maybe it is the other way around?)

the problem is that whenever i want to listen to music through the speakers, i have to turn bass down through windows sound settings... but then if i want to put my headphones on, i have to go back and bring the bass back up again. its really annoying...

what im wondering is, is there a way to lower the bass of only the front or rear channels? or some way to tell just the subwoofer to play lower? i didnt find anything in creative's sb live software... this is so annoying!

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #1 –
As workarround I'd use two audio players (or two installations of one).

1st one: Some player capable of "move stereo to rear channels" output, e.g. foobar2000
2nd one: any other audio player with ordinary stereo output.

Set the equilizers of both players the way you want ...
Let's suppose that rain washes out a picnic. Who is feeling negative? The rain? Or YOU? What's causing the negative feeling? The rain or your reaction? - Anthony De Mello

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #2 –
You should also make sure the subwoofer is not close to a room corner.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #3 –
My computer speakers (Logitech Z series) have a similar problem (subwoofer too loud) but you can pretty much avoid it if you place the subwoofer carefully. As Krest said, avoid having the sub anywhere near a corner. Make sure that the port (if you sub has one) does not point under a desk, bed or any other similar closed space.

Another thing you can try is to get big blobs of prestik (that white or blue gummy stuff) and stick your sub firmly to the floor. A friend of mine used to complain about his sub, but it turned out that most of the noise that irritated him came from it vibrating on the floor. You can buy a set of spikes (from Madisound or your local hifi shop) which will achieve a similar thing.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #4 –
Stick a towel into the sub port. Don't wrap the entire thing in a blanket though, it will burn.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #5 –
try changing the phase of the subwoofer... (invert polarity).

Also try adding some nice carpet and soft furniture in your room
She is waiting in the air

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #6 –
Quote
try changing the phase of the subwoofer... (invert polarity).

Also try adding some nice carpet and soft furniture in your room

how do you change the phase? what is polarity?

i really appreciate all the responses

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #7 –
I doubt changing the polarity is going to make any difference, as the main speakers aren't going to have the same frequencies present anyways. And that's what changing the polarity is for, to compensate for it being in/out of phase with mains that are reproducing some of the same frequencies. Probably all you can do is crack it open (*if* you can crack it open, some are "nicely" glued shut) and insert a high-wattage resistor in series with the sub so that it is quieter. Perhaps you can unscrew the sub from the box, if the box itself can't be opened. Sticking an ~8 ohm resistor in there might be enough to quiet it down.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #8 –
I also doubt that a swapping the phase is going to improve anything much (and I doubt the ATP3 has a phase switch).

If your subwoofer is away from walls (especially corners), not under a desk, and the bass is still too loud, stuffing the port is probably your best option short of opening up the sub itself.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #9 –
Quote
Also try adding some nice carpet and soft furniture in your room

Carpet doesn't help anything for bass sounds. The thickness of the carpet needs to be at least a quarter of the wavelength which you try to dampen, which would mean around a meter or so in the case of bass sounds. Resonant absorbers has a much better chance in this range.

http://www.mhsoft.nl/Helmholtzabsorber.asp

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #10 –
Stuffing something soft and heavy into the port will certainly attenuate the sound coming from the speaker, however it might also cause your subwoofer to overheat and die. Most sets have their amplifiers built into the back of the subwoofer and many rely on the air flow through the port for adequate cooling.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #11 –
for that matter, if you're lucky they'll have a clearly labelled sub control inside that you could turn down somewhere on the amp.

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #12 –
OK, how about we actually read up on the system itself...

http://www.3dsoundsurge.com/reviews/ATP3/ATP3.html

There is no port, there is just a down-firing driver eating 18 W compared to 6 W to each satellite.

The easiest thing to try is to move the box around. It's probably forming standing waves, and if you get it out of a sweet spot you may fix that.

Another easy thing is to dampen the speaker by stuffing something - a towel or foam - underneath it.

Any success so far?

Help! Solution for speaker/headphone bass level?

Reply #13 –
You should be able to buy or make a volume control that connects in the line to the subwoofer.. which is usually a 1/8 inch headphone jack for PC systems, or RCA plugs for "real" stereos.  Try Radio Shack