I worked as a DJ in big night clubs and also recording studios in my youth. Most professional subwoofers do not put out much amplitude below 40hz or so (except the Bag End subs, which I have never seen in action in NYC area). Of course there is still some output below that, but the output uniformity so non-linear that there is usually a big hump of output between 50hz to 80hz and the output for what is below is proportionally so much lower that it is not all that meaningful.
Professional applications require VERY loud sound pressure for LONG hours, and that most pop music recordings out there do not even contain such low frequency information (most pop recordings have a huge bump in the 50hz to 60hz range) that producing low frequencies below 40hz at equivalent volume is not practical and too power hungry and potentially risky for amplifier burn outs and voice coil melt downs... What is important in professional monitoring is loudness, low distortion, dispersion properties, and ruggedness. High fidelity sound is still attempted in design, but it takes last place behind all the above mentioned qualities.
In the old days when Technics 1200's turntables ruled the clubs, many clubs even add steep sloped filters to their systems so frequencies below 20hz are completely cut off, because the vinyl rumble can blow the entire system! Pop music does not sound that great with lower than 40hz frequencies emphasized anyway. Try it out with a parametric equalizer and you will see what I mean...
Professional application monitors have a completely different functional purpose and designed that way... So to compare professional monitors with quality home speakers is like comparing apples to oranges...
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I worked as a DJ in big night clubs and also recording studios in my youth. Most professional subwoofers do not put out much amplitude below 40hz or so (except the Bag End subs, which I have never seen in action in NYC area). Of course there is still some output below that, but the output uniformity so non-linear that there is usually a big hump of output between 50hz to 80hz and the output for what is below is proportionally so much lower that it is not all that meaningful.
Professional applications require VERY loud sound pressure for LONG hours, and that most pop music recordings out there do not even contain such low frequency information (most pop recordings have a huge bump in the 50hz to 60hz range) that producing low frequencies below 40hz at equivalent volume is not practical and too power hungry and potentially risky for amplifier burn outs and voice coil melt downs... What is important in professional monitoring is loudness, low distortion, dispersion properties, and ruggedness. High fidelity sound is still attempted in design, but it takes last place behind all the above mentioned qualities.
In the old days when Technics 1200's turntables ruled the clubs, many clubs even add steep sloped filters to their systems so frequencies below 20hz are completely cut off, because the vinyl rumble can blow the entire system! Pop music does not sound that great with lower than 40hz frequencies emphasized anyway. Try it out with a parametric equalizer and you will see what I mean...
Professional application monitors have a completely different functional purpose and designed that way... So to compare professional monitors with quality home speakers is like comparing apples to oranges...