This article is a deeper dive and add-on to our more high-level Sigberg Audio approach article, so please read that first if you haven't already.
Why is midbass so important?
The 4-way with a subwoofer approach of Sigberg Audio allows for dedicated midbass drivers. But why is midbass so important?
Sometimes called upper bass and/or lower midrange, the frequency range around roughly 100-500hz contains something important: A large part of both male and female voices. As if that wasn't enough, there's an incredible amount of drive, punch and attack in this frequency range. The fundamental of a lot of percussion and rhythm instruments live here.
A second point is that bass is extremely demanding to reproduce. When speakers are never asked to do that, the added capacity and dynamic range is significant. But let's not just cut away the bass. Sigberg Audio speakers feature different drivers (less mass, different suspension, higher sensitivity), specifically designed for midbass duty and with extreme dynamic capacity.
The Sigberg Audio approach
What makes our active speakers and subwoofers work as well as they do?
- A high quality coax driver provides a point source, an unusually large soundstage and a precise stereo perspective.
- Dedicated subwoofer for the bass and dedicated midbass drivers in the speakers, for a true 4-way speaker system. This allows the speaker to focus on the important midbass area, providing unheard of capacity.
- Our subwoofers provide clean and neutral sound all the way from the deepest bass and far up in the mid-bass range. They are built to compete with expensive floor-standing speakers in terms of precision, realism and authority.
- Dedicated mono amplifiers (Hypex nCore) for all drivers.
- Digital crossovers provide smoother and better frequency response, higher sensitivity and better dynamics than traditional, passive solutions.
- The tuning and frequency response is optimised and verified with Klippel measurement systems in an anechoic chamber.
- The compact size of our speakers and subwoofers translates to very rigid cabinets. The fact that the frequencies below 100hz are in a separate cabinet minimizes resonances and vibrations in the speakers.
Acoustics
The room is one of the biggest factors for good sound. The tonal balance, as in the balance between the dark tones and the bright tones in the music, is partly a result of the design of your speakers, and partly of the size of your room and how sound is reflected by room boundaries and objects. It's important to spend some time to experiment with speaker placement, and if possible reduce the number of naked, reflective surfaces. Reach out to us before or after your purchase, and we'd be happy to assist!
We understand and respect that most people won't have access to a dedicated listening space, and must make the best of it. Our speakers have even dispersion characteristics, meaning they sound great even in less than perfect rooms. The MANTA adds cardioid dispersion to the mix, further reducing the effect of room reflections. Finally, both the SBS.1 and the MANTA are built to play with subwoofers. One obvious advantage is that you immediately get control over the critical range from 20-100hz. You can now easily control the amount of bass with the volume of the subwoofer. This balance is a big factor in perceived sound quality, and this alone is a big step up from stand-alone speakers.
Finally all our subwoofers and speakers have a built-in manual EQ to further correct for room issues when necessary. For those who don't have the time or interest to learn how to use that, not to worry: Our speakers sound awesome right out of the box too!
In summary
With Sigberg Audio you get ..
- Speakers that sound fantastic - whether your preferred listening level is low, moderate or at concert levels. Whether you listen to Diana Krall or Metallica.
- Speakers with even dispersion ensuring they sound great in typical, less than perfect listening spaces.
- Dedicated subwoofers that allow you to control the tonal balance in your setup, and provide quality, capacity and authority in the bass that few floorstanders can match.
- DSP that can be used to further adjust tonality, and clean up the critical bass and midbass area so that the system integrates better with your room.
- Built-in, dedicated and very powerful amplifier stages for all channels. All you need is one or more good sources, and possibly a preamplifier.
- Personal, expert advice and support to help you get the most out of your system.
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