In a nutshell this is an education thing and nothing more.
Those that denigrate a distributed bass array are apparently simply ignorant of its advantages. Many dealers don't sell them, so their comments can be sidelined safely enough.
If your front speakers actually make bass, then what you do is add a pair of subs elsewhere in the room to break up the standing waves that often cause bass cancellation at the listening chair.
Like many industries (such as bicycles) much is ruled by tradition in audio. New ideas and breakthroughs thus tend to exist only on the fringe while the mainstream flows fat dumb and happy using established or 'more profitable' tech that simply doesn't bring home the bacon. It seems to be human nature. I can give a nice example- derailluers in bicycles are a terrible idea. Essentially its a transmission where everything is exposed and as a result they are unreliable. A chain might only last 1200 miles- compared to a car or motorbike bicycles seem really unreliable- you'd think that after 120 years we'd have sorted that out, and in fact we have with internally geared hubs (the Rohloff being the best of them) and the Pinion gearbox which is mounted in the frame. Both of the latter dramatically more reliable than any derailleur and usually wider gear range. I got my first Rohloff about 15 years ago- back then no-one had heard of them. Even now, most people heavily into bikes still don't know what a Rohloff (or a Pinion) is. Its the same with a distributed bass array. They work **way** better than the prior art, but most people don't know what it is, and some that do resist almost purely out of tradition (substitute 'stubbornness' for 'tradition' and the meaning of this sentence is unchanged).
Those that denigrate a distributed bass array are apparently simply ignorant of its advantages. Many dealers don't sell them, so their comments can be sidelined safely enough.
If your front speakers actually make bass, then what you do is add a pair of subs elsewhere in the room to break up the standing waves that often cause bass cancellation at the listening chair.
Like many industries (such as bicycles) much is ruled by tradition in audio. New ideas and breakthroughs thus tend to exist only on the fringe while the mainstream flows fat dumb and happy using established or 'more profitable' tech that simply doesn't bring home the bacon. It seems to be human nature. I can give a nice example- derailluers in bicycles are a terrible idea. Essentially its a transmission where everything is exposed and as a result they are unreliable. A chain might only last 1200 miles- compared to a car or motorbike bicycles seem really unreliable- you'd think that after 120 years we'd have sorted that out, and in fact we have with internally geared hubs (the Rohloff being the best of them) and the Pinion gearbox which is mounted in the frame. Both of the latter dramatically more reliable than any derailleur and usually wider gear range. I got my first Rohloff about 15 years ago- back then no-one had heard of them. Even now, most people heavily into bikes still don't know what a Rohloff (or a Pinion) is. Its the same with a distributed bass array. They work **way** better than the prior art, but most people don't know what it is, and some that do resist almost purely out of tradition (substitute 'stubbornness' for 'tradition' and the meaning of this sentence is unchanged).