Atomic FRFR vs. standard monitors (RCF, etc)

[Dday]

I have the Atomics (straight and wedge), but after talking to another Axe Ultra owner who uses standard monitors, I'm wondering. The tone/response seems to change as I bring the volume up or down. He said this wasn't the case for him....always consistent. Anyone with this type of experience? A/B'd them??

 

[xrist04]

The change in tone, as you change volume, may be related to the concept of equal-loudness curves, as documented by Fletcher and Munson at Bell Labs in the 1930s.

Put simply, at lower volume levels people do not perceive low-frequency and high-frequency sounds ("bass and treble") to be as loud as they appear to be at higher volume levels. When the volume is low, the sound appears to lack bass and treble, so the natural instinct is to use EQ to boost the low and high frequencies. As you turn up the volume (increasing dB SPL), the boosted bass and treble content becomes overbearing, even obnoxious. This is the reason why some consumer stereo equipment have a "Loudness" feature. It's intended to boost the bass and treble content, when listening at low volumes.

You may be experiencing the "Fletcher-Munson" effect, as you increase the volume on your Atomic FR cabs.

 

[Dday]

I had read about the equal-loudness curves in the past, but my friend said he didn't experience that with powered floor wedges (???).

 

[barhrecords]

The equal loudness effect is about the way the human ear / mind percieves sound.

It is not about the way the speaker reproduces sound.

Richard

 

[BBN]

I had read about the equal-loudness curves in the past, but my friend said he didn't experience that with powered floor wedges (???).

The best thing to do would be to hear your friends wedges and see if you agree with what he is saying.
Let your ears decide if his wedges actually react different than your Atomics.

(I've had lots of friends tell me lots of things that I'm not sure I'd agree with the way they described it.....I'm not saying he's making it up, just saying that his description of how his wedges react, may not be how you would describe it)