World's Most Powerful Subwoofer

dponce80 writes "This $13,000 subwoofer, the TRW 17 from Eminent Technology is billed as the world's most powerful due to its ability to reproduce sounds with frequencies as low as 1Hz. Typical subwoofers bottom out at 20Hz, and while the human ear can barely hear below that point, it is still possible to feel the sound. This particular woofer does not have an enclosure, instead relying on a fan-like design, wafting a cone of modulated air into the room, and effectively turning it into a resonating box, in its entirety!"

Comments

Deaf people?

[jobber-d]

I wonder if this will affect deaf people's ability to 'listen' to music at all. Having a wider range of frequencies should allow for more variations in vibrations, no?

Is this even legal?

[GeorgeWright]

Note: I have not yet read the article because the server seems to be dead.

Is this subwoofer even legal? International law bans transmitters which are capable of transmitting on the frequency of approx 6 or 7Hz because that's the resonant frequency of the human ribcage. Seems like this could be used as a pretty lethal weapon from the (short) description in the posting.

Re:Is this even legal?

[fmwap]

Interesting thought, I've felt the effects before but never done any research...

According to this article, lung collapse can be a effect of freqencies in this range, and that " The lungs may essentially start to vibrate in the same frequency as the bass, which could cause a lung to rupture."

I vaguly remember hearing about experimentation into using this as a weapon (No, not the Brown note), but more of a lung-collapsing, vomit inducing weapon.

Re:Is this even legal?

[ChadN]

This reminds of a time, years ago, when I went to a petting zoo in Reston, Virginia. They had a pair of Emu in a large paddock, and as I walked up to the fence (about 20 feet away from them), I felt something hit me in the chest. I stopped and looked around; I was alone. I took another step, somewhat hesitantly, and something hit me again.

I was looking at the Emu, they were looking at me, and the second time it happened, I saw something moving on one bird's chest. So, I decided they must have some sort of air bladder which they could pulse, and warn me to keep away. Which I did. I'm convinced what I felt (assuming it wasn't all in my head) was a low frequency pulse the birds use "communicate", the effects of which I felt right in my chest cavity. I'd love to hear from anyone whose had a similar experience.

Re:Is this even legal?

[ozmanjusri]

I'd love to hear from anyone whose had a similar experience.

Female emus do that booming thing a lot - it's their way of communicating. They do have an air sac on the lower curve of their neck, but it's hard to spot if you don't know what you're looking for because their feathers hang down over that part of their necks.

The noise they make is low and loud, and I'm not surprised you felt it. If you're out in the bush on a quiet night, you can hear them from kilometres away.

Primitive Audio Weapon ?

[zuki]

Although there are several patents already held in the field of military and defense-related technologies for ultra-high intensity infrasonic weapons capable of destroying concrete structures from a distance (it's rumored to be able to do far uglier things to the human body), and this since the early 50's, there are some other considerations to keep in mind when attempting to use such a monster subwoofer at home or in a small enclosed space.

Without taking the time to quote the exact sources, it is known (another urban legend?...) in the field of both professional studio and live sound that certain subsonic frequencies are likely to inflict severe punishment to the human body, from memory I seem to recall 3 Hz causing nausea, loss of equilibrium and balance, some other frequencies nearby incontinence or cardiac arrhythmia, and one in particular (??...) rumored to be fatal at certain elevated sound pressure levels. All of this between 1 Hz and 25 Hz. (someone please take the time to dig up the precise data and papers on this?...)

Further, it should be understood that most audio mastering engineers will severely filter out any frequencies below 25 Hz as a matter of habit from the old mastering vinyl days, but also as those sounds do 'cloud up' the 'bottom end' audio in final mixes, and possibly because some of them are aware of the inherent risks posed by having those stray frequencies played at very loud volumes in enclosed areas.

Although this piece of gear sounds like it could be terrific, it may also pose a very real threat to its users if operated improperly. So far, we're not even talking about the possibility of inflicted hearing damage from exposure.

YMMV, as always, and most certainly in this case, batteries definitely not included.