I haven't partied in europe ever so I wouldn't know the dif but all I want to say is I have lost some hearing standing next to big ass speakers especially at an Oakey set ( I dunno I think they put it really loud just for him or something ) this was last year and I've learnt from it but I'm serious I lost some hearing, I also listened to music loud at home and walkman too, apart from clubs and stuff!!! I feel like an idiot when sometimes I don't hear what my friends say when they talk....

So wherever you are, watch out for your ears... I even have to sit in the front rows in class cuz I can't hear the profs at the back...

latez...

Personally, I'd rather listen to something at a reasonably loud level with a flat frequency response rather than soak everything in Bass. This seems to be a trend over here and for the Tech Reason below, it results in lower level sound.

Tech Alert: Treble is more harmful to your ears than bass. This is because of the stapes reflex in the ear. This muscle reacts to bass and stiffens thus attenuating sound level by approximately 10dB.

I hope for the sake of people in Europe that the clubs there have less bass than the ones here. I consider myself somewhat of an audiophile, and when I'm at a club around here, I think the bass is turned up way to high. Most of the time, it's so loud that the amplifiers are acually starting to clip giving the beat a fuzzy distorted sound. I wish they'd turn it down.

That kind of thing is a sign of cheap speakers. It's easier to get a loud bass than a decent frequency response due to inherent problems in the actual physics of the things.

It is a problem over here but not as bad as it sounds like (no pun intended) over there.

You're probably right, but I think it has to do with cheap amplifiers as much as the speakers. Either way it doesn't sound good. I'm amazed more people don't complain.

Last party I went to the bass was amazing. It wasn't fuzzy or clipped or anything, but it was really pumped and sounded great for drum n bass, trance, house, whatever... we had a 40,000 watt sound system going in a 500 person venue, it wasn't bad

I can't stand it when the system is set up so you get that higher end buzzing/static noise in your ears, but I love phat bass.... hell, I used to have 2 15" subs in my room till my parents made me get rid of them

hmm.. hehe, one thing is for sure, with alot of bass and everything else compressed and distorted, it's alot easier for the dj's to mix and not sound fucked up... especially with trance with its intricate melody and synth lines... but I guess the people here prefer the mid bass region pounding more than the sub bass or something... it does create a more underground/party like atmosphere though.

Looks like different people prefer different things!!!!! I agree the really low bass end does create a better atmosphere - what the clubs should do is have sub-woofers and main speakers so you still get the sub bass ie < 70 Hz but keep the punchiness of the 70 - 200 Hz region.

Joel Fielder is absolutely correct. Pretty smart for someone without a name

All I know is you sholdn't mess up your ears...
High bass can kill your ears up and you'll probably be pissed when you get older. =P
So.... Do yourself a favour and don't stand next to 3meter high speakers when your at a rave. lol
: )


[This message has been edited by sKyBreAK (edited 11-14-2000).]

The real problem is that if you want to have a clear and loud system it is extremely expensive, its much easier (and cheaper) to flood the floor with distorted(clipping) bass and treble, good sound engineers are few and far between. To get the "floor" shaking bass that some people here love its probably more efficient to use tranducers, and use speakers for bass above 40 HZ. Great clubs get engineers to design their audio systems and are willing to spend good $$ thats why it sounds so good, lesser clubs just pump distortion because its just too expensive to do it right.

Mike