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Subwoofer

A couple of days ago I was talking to a dealer and he said that all speakers benefit from adding a subwoofer. What's are your thoughts? 
ricred1
ejr1953
917 posts
 
I am on my third setup with sub woofers.  I find you must have patience to get them properly integrated into your music system.  But once done, they add so much to the sound of the system, they take the great sound from the main speakers and make them sound awesome.

One of my audio "mentors" used to tell me that the best sub woofer was one that didn't sound like it was there, unless of course, you are a person whose pants hang down, exposing your undies.

This last go around was the most difficult integration of all, as the room had all sorts of resonances that interfered in a big way with the law bass.  It took the installation of 10 bass traps and tuning the crossover frequency, curve and volume using the Room EQ Wizard software and calibration microphone to get it sounding "just right".  Now that it does, it just sounds awesome!
tboooe's avatar
tboooe
1,009 posts
 
tboooe,
I swear to you adding subs has "opened things up and expanded the soundstage." I don't know why, but it's easy to hear.
What has been difficult is blending them perfectly!

I sure hope so!  I am going to pull the trigger on a REL T-5i sub.  I think in my modest room and style of music  this sub should work for me.  

Where do you guys suggest I set the crossover point?   My speakers start to roll off at 72hz and its -6db point is 43hz.

bpoletti
1,553 posts
 
My "main" speakers are -3dB around mid-40s with a fairly shallow rolloff.  I added subs below 25hz (72dB / oct) using an analog electronic crossover built by an audio designer who knows what they're doing.  Steep cutoff below 10hz.  I built a pair of 12 cu ft cabinets, each housing 1 x 18" Eminence Kilomax driver.  150 watt mono amp per sub.  Corner placement behind the mains. 

Crossover could be higher with a strong likelihood they would interfere with the mains (soundstage, image, details). 

Nice DIY subs.  But they do need a bit of extra power to compensate for their natural rolloff.  (Crossover has an additional response curve to counter the natural driver rolloff in that enclosure.) 

I try really hard to keep from "dropping the needle" when playing vinyl. 
bondmanp
1,820 posts
 

All speakers? That’s a blanket statement which implies the person making the statement has heard all speakers with and without subwoofers.


That said, IME, I have generally preferred systems which properly use a subwoofer than those that do not. However, a poorly implemented subwoofer can do more harm than good.


In my own system, I use a pair of Vandersteen 2Wq subs with the battery biased MHP5 crossovers. I will never let go of these high-value, highly underrated subwoofers, no mater which speakers I will own. My mains extend into the low 30Hz range on their own, but when dialed-in properly, the Vandy subs are simply stunning in their ability to fill out the lowest octave, add depth and width to the soundstage, and produce a wonderful foundation for the rest of the range. YMMV.

ricred1 OP
2,053 posts
 
bondmanp,
I think what he was saying is, no matter what the listed frequency response of a speaker is, in his experience all speakers benefit from using a sub.
The question is, will spending an equivalent amount on better speakers yield similar results as adding a sub?
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