A new study led by Luc Arnal, director of the Cognition and Auditory Communication team at the reConnect Institute at theHearing Institute, in collaboration with researchers from L-Acoustics, shows that targeted bass amplification, without increasing the volume, can enhance physiological responses and the emotional experience of listening to music.
Conducted in the laboratory and under natural listening conditions similar to those of a concert, these experiments indicate that boosting the bass significantly increases listeners’ subjective arousal. In the laboratory, this effect is not accompanied by changes in early auditory responses measured by electroencephalogram. It is, however, associated with a synchronization of brain activity in the delta band (2–5 Hz), suggesting a predictive tracking of the musical flow. In the field, electrodermal activity (which objectively quantifies physiological arousal via sensors worn by participants) proved to be the most robust indicator and confirms that bass amplification enhances emotional engagement.
Beyond their relevance to sound design, these findings suggest a practical way to balance the intensity of the experience with risk prevention. In amplified listening environments, the temptation to increase the volume to “amp up” the energy exposes listeners to auditory fatigue and, in the long term, to an increased risk of damage. Adjusting the spectral balance—and in particular the low-frequency component—could help maximize emotional impact while limiting exposure to high volume.
Epain, N., Moulin, S., Mingam, C., Wallerich, M., Corteel, E., & Arnal, L. H. (January 2026). Bass amplification impacts emotional, neural, and physiological responses to music. Applied Acoustics, 241, 110993. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apacoust.2025.110993
