I’d strongly encourage you to at least try a sub as the benefits go well beyond adding bass and also greatly enhance imaging, soundstage, and overall sense of space. The SVS 1000 Pro is only about 13” square and 15” depth, will get you down to an honest 20Hz (-3dB), comes with integration software, and this one available on their Outlet is only $575 with free shipping. And you get a 45-day trial period so if it doesn’t work out for you (or your wife) you can simply return it with free return shipping. Just trying to help as I know what a sub can do and think it’s at least worth giving a shot especially when SVS makes it so painless. They also have great customer support if you ever need help with integration, etc. (probably can’t do much about the wife though). Ok, that’s all I got and hope you get a chance to at least give a sub a try.
https://www.svsound.com/products/sb-1000-pro-subwoofer
Odd subwoofer question.
I am not a sub woofer guy. Have played around with a few. Both high end and mid level. They never did much for my primary system (Aerial Acoustics 7B towers, AR tube pre, Levinson amp). But, I don’t really know anything about subs or how to optimize them.
Anyway, in my living room my secondary system for casual listening consists of a pair of inherited Aerial Acoustics 6T towers driven by a Sonos Amp. I know. Long story. But in truth the Sonos Amp does a really good job and ties the 6Ts into the house system.
I’d say 75% of the time I am totally happy with how this system sounds. At times I’m amazed how good it sounds. But, sometimes I do wonder if a sub would add anything.
My audio fetish is tight, precise bass.
I’m looking for advice on a sub woofer to try. Given the nature of this system I am not looking for anything high end or complicated. But also wondering if a modestly priced sub is just going to muddy the waters. All advice appreciated.
The Sonos Amp does have sub output.
Thanks.
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Has anyone else tried a Vandersteen 2W? They are around the OPs budget used, however it is uncertain whether the OP’s woofers are in polarity there, or whether they are inverted… in a 3 way the woofer and tweeter are often OK and the MR is inverted… The invert switches are on a lot of gear, which suggests that they can be needed often. |
Sub bass is very difficult. It is not just a matter of what you hear. It is more about what you feel. To get the right idea go to a small Jazz club like the Blue Note in NYC. Try to sit dead center of the band. Reproducing this level of sound quality at home is possible but it requires lots of subwoofer, in my case eight 12" drivers, lots of power, each pair gets 2000 watts and digital bass management (crossovers and room control). You have to remove as much bass as you can from the main speakers which will clean them up and increase their headroom by a substantial margin. I cross over at 100 Hz. The subwoofers themselves are another world of problems. Keeping the enclosure from resonating is extremely difficult as bass is very powerful. Put your hand on your subwoofer while playing. Feel the vibration? That is resonance and that is distortion. Ideally you would not feel anything other than a cold surface. Building such a subwoofer is very expensive and not viable commercially with only the Magico brave enough to give it a spin with their Q series. Since most of us are not up for spending $40K on a single subwoofer the DIYer is left to his own devices to make it work. |
while @mijostyn 's points are salient to any subwoofer discussion, in my view and experience they are not practical obstacles to having subs (at least rel subs in my personal experience, but i know there are other excellent subs out there) work in a totally satisfactory manner for very high end systems for very discriminating listeners i would also add that sub bass infomation is also very much about helping the system develop a very palpable sense of space and natural propogation of transient information approximating a real life listening or performance venue |
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