On Sat, 4 Oct 2003 08:33:02 +0100, Chris Morriss
wrote:

In message , Stewart Pinkerton
writes
On 03 Oct 2003 07:08:40 GMT, John Phillips
wrote:

"Slam" is an effect I have never actually felt in the concert hall even
with big bass percussion so it may only be an artificial effect which
occurs in "small" listening rooms. It happens in mine on all kinds
of music. Perhaps it is an effect which gets created at large rock
concerts but I only listen to rock at home.

It is certainly used as reviewer jargon and as a marketing term. The
differences of opinion here belie statements to the effect that it is
a well understood term.

It's commonly associated with a noticeable hump in the bass response
around 60-80 Hz. Check out any dance club, you'll find a fair bit of
EQ in this band, probably combined with speakers which drop off fast
below 50Hz. This gives bass which is commonly described as 'tight' and
'fast', with plenty of 'slam'.

Since a hump in that part of the bass spectrum and a fast roll-off below
that is exactly what I hate (I like well-damped bass that continues
slowly dropping off as the frequency drops. One of the reasons I still
can't agree with you about reflex boxes) then I'll avoid any speakers
that people say have 'Slam'.

It should be noted that whether a speaker is a sealed box or a reflex
design says *nothing* about how well-damped is its bass response.
That's purely a function of system 'Q'. Listen to the bigger ATC
designs for top-class examples of well-damped reflex sytstems which
will thump your chest cavity with ease on loud kick-drum (now that's
what *I* call 'slam'!), but have no lumpiness or 'one note' quality
about their bass response. Since they're flat down to 20-25Hz, how
fast they drop off *below* that frequency is hardly relevant to music
listening.
--

Stewart Pinkerton | Music is Art - Audio is Engineering