Monitor with sub or Full Range Speakers

Hi Revrob,

I think it's great that you found the sound that you've been looking for, within your budget. I've never heard of this company, but I did check out their website and I am familiar with some of the drivers that they use which I believe are very good and their cabinetry work looks top notch too.

Certainly the key to unlock this discussion, is less about price shopping, and more about coherency of the drivers, location of one sub in the room, as well as crossover integration and volume matching of the sub to the monitors so that the sub does not stand out. As I mentioned earlier, if you can achieve this, than you will be rewarded with a wonderful sound.

Now, with that in mind why don't you also take a look at what is available in the used floor-standers market for around $3000 I suspect you may be looking at an original retail price of around 5-6 thousand new. If you are still interested in a sub, which may not be necessary based on the types of music that you listen to, you could always add a sub to the floor-standers later, and in my experience it is a little easier to match a sub to a floor-stander speaker that has deeper bass, than it is to match it to a monitor which has less bass, because you will be able to select a lower crossover point with the larger speaker.

Happy Listening,
Rich

Blindjim,

At the risk of dating myself, I last swam in the sub/sat pool in the 1970's -Kef Corellis w/ an M&K sub- and climbed out due to dangerous surf conditions. I just never got it to sound right.

I spent the next 25 years in the full range pool, using very high quality examples from Merlin, Verity, Maggie, and SF, among others. I only waded back into the sub/sat waters last year - and even then I had no intention of taking this approach for my main 2 channel system.

I have now discovered how effective the current digital PEq units are. They not only "fix" the room, but allow a much better shot at seamless integration between subs and sats. In the last few years, the game has fundamentally changed for sub/sat users. True, there are digitally controlled full range units out there, but none (that I know of) at the OPs stated budget.

Just wanted to clarify that the debate also continues from some who dipped much more than a toe in both pools.

Marty

I guess I should add that all that is just MHO.

Marty

Marty,

I'm looking at the NHT XD system with two subs. What
do you think??

Thanks,
Bob

Bob,

IMHO, the XD is a terrific system. However, the DEQX processor included
with that set-up doesn't do digital room correction ("DRC") like a
full blown DEQX or the SMS-1 or any of the Audyssey powered alternatives.
It effects crossovers in the digital domain and corrects for some system
misbehaviors, but not for room specific anomalies. If your room happens to
be very good to outstanding, the difference may not be all that great. If it's a
more typical environment, you'll hear the difference.

If you search these forums for "NHT XD" , you'll find discussion of
a vendor selling the subs and sats at very steep discounts. You could add a
full blown DEQX unit (and 4 channels of amplification) and get
the benefits of DRC, albeit for a fair bit more than the current asking price for
a new XD. This "hybridized" XD based system would then provide full range
room correction and execute all x-overs digitally. By contrast, the SMS-1
that I use only treats the bass region, where most of the serious room
problems are found.

Some people will protest that the XD subjects the entire signal to A/D/A
processing, which is true. I've done A/B comparison to test whether this is
audible in my system. I tried my system with my SMS effecting both high
pass for the mains and low pass for the subs - which converts the entire
signal from analog to digital and back again, just like the XD. Then I tried
using an NHT analog high pass filter for the mains with the SMS on-line for
the subs, but completely out of the main signal path. I believe that I heard a
difference, so I stuck with the NHT for high pass. To be clear: any audible
difference was TO MY EAR very slight and one that's certainly pretty benign.
Nonetheless, I got queasy with it. That's why I don't use the high pass in the
SMS-1. I will note that anyone less audio-diseased than me might well
dismiss this objection as "silly". I wouldn't necessarily argue with
that. Some people object to full range A/D/A, others don't - so it's your call.

Marty