Do you use a Subwoofer when listening to stereo?

Hello emerging soul,

     I’m thinking you’re probably getting a bit overwhelmed and confused right about now, due to all the varied, pro and con advice you’ve been receiving on this thread about subs.
     It’s not unusual for some groups of audio enthusiasts to be against the use of subs. One group considers themselves ’traditionalists’ or ’purists’ that accept, without challenge and regardless of evidence to the contrary, the long standing audio hobby trope that subs shouldn’t be needed or used and just continue to parrot this outdated and misguided belief.
     Other overlapping anti-sub groups, that may or may not consider themselves audio traditionalists or purists, consists of those who have never experienced the sound quality of a good system with 1 or more subs optimally incorporated and those that have attempted to integrate 1 or more subs into their own system but perceived the results as negative for some reason. It’s important to note that individuals in this latter group could have perceived poor results from their attempted sub incorporations due to not following reliable and proven methods of incorporating 1 or more subs into a room and system.
     My main point is that it’s fairly common for individuals, even among otherwise knowledgeable and experienced Audiogon members, to be unaware of these reliable and proven methods of incorporating 1 or more subs into virtually any room and system. I believe this lack of knowledge and experience explains the opinion of some that incorporating 1 or more subs is difficult or not possible.
     My intention is to urge you not to become discouraged by the sub naysayers, they just don’t know what they don’t know. I can assure you that, if you follow my advice, you’ll be able to very successfully incorporate 1 or more subs into your room and system. Rest assured, there are very effective, and fairly simple, methods of reliably and effectively incorporating 1 or more subs into virtually any room and system, regardless of the main speakers utilized.
     I’m willing and able to guide you through the process if you’d like. The only stipulation is that 1-2 subs are required to provide good bass at a single designated listening position and a minimum of 3-4 subs are required to provide good bass performance throughout your entire room.  The reasons for this are a bit complex but I can explain them to you if you'd like.

Later,
Tim

It took me a while to realize how important subs are for stereo listening, but glad I realized it. It is not only about getting good bass, which it does (get high quality subs) but you will see how the mids become rich. More the subs, better it gets, but I settled with 2 subs. Also, I agree with getting a quality pre-amp or integrated amp. Try to experiment yourself to see if your DAC can be connected to amp directly (many DACs act as pre-amp) and see for any difference in sound quality. In my experience, the sound quality was much better when I used pre-amp portion of my integrated amp, compared to bypassing the pre-amp. 

I would dearly love to get a Swarm as @atmosphere suggests. I’ll have to move to a larger room. I barely have room for my stereo pair and to walk but they did wonders for the low end once I had them adjusted to perfection.
I thought I could do without a sub, then after reading and watching the videos of Jim Smith's "Get Better Sound" and then speaking with Jim for advice I became convinced that I should have subs. Two is better than one and four or more is even better.

Does not using a sub make sense.  My answer - absolutely.  I specifically designed my home stereo to be without a subwoofer.

I decided that route because a lot of what I like about music started when I was younger and subs were something I never heard of.

My speakers are Sonus Faber Sonetto Vs and they are driven by McIntosh MC 302.  

Is it a compromise?  Yes, I have a budget for speakers and including a sub in the equation may have changed my speaker model 

Does my system sound good to me?  Yes.  

Effectively, do what works for you given your listening preferences, space and budget.  Remember some people think their iPods are awesome sounding!

Hi emerging soul,

I totally agree with Noble100 assessment above regarding sub naysayers and purist. The sub naysayers and purist have probably never experienced a well setup subwoofer(s) in a stereo system hence their negative opinion in using a subwoofer with stereo !

Many well setup stereo systems sound great without any subwoofer. However adding a MATCHING suitable subwoofer to any system will transform the system to another level no matter how good or powerful your main speakers are. You have to experience it to believe it.

However, one cannot simply add just any subwoofer to a stereo system and expect it to perform well!

The key to the performace success is that the subwoofer(s) must be a suitable match for your mains in terms of speed/power/range and be correctly placed and setup in your room environment.

Regarding your current system, I would say that you will not benefit greatly by adding your ASW2000 subwoofer to your stereo system. The ASW2000 is good for theatre use but it is simply no match for your much superior B&W 804 mains in terms of speed and power etc.  I would rather just enjoy the stereo system without subwoofer in this case.

The manufacturer's recommended subwoofer for your mains will be the B&W DB1/DB2 range. REL S810 + Series subwooofers will also be a good match, specially with their high level input option. The older B&W ASW825/850 sub will also work well with your system. I have used ASW850 in the past but I now use dual REL 212SE to go with my system with high level input option.

Adding subwoofer(s) may seem an expensive upgrade but it offers value for money in much superior all round performance benefits. It is also much cheaper then upgrading your mains!!

Happy Listening!