Why the obsession with the lowest octave

I haven't read all the replies, but what you miss with the lowest octave is not only bass, but especially the ambiance cues of the original site that makes a recording sound "real" and complete. Then you can talk about soundstaging and imaging. As they say, you don't know what you're missing until you get it!

"a THERORETICAL -3db, who cares what you guess a system will do." - Acoustat6

Theory is not the same as guessing; it's what designers use in the design stage.

Duke
speaker designer

The big problem I think is the idea that really low bottom octave bass sounds muddy blurred smeared etc. I happen to think it does also. Maybe I get that impression from the wretched super subs installed in that SUV 5 cars away annoying the living S**t out of me.
That being said I am curious to know what it is that I am missing out on, when these low sounds are properly reproduced. I am very curious how Duke's systems work. Yes I too was a bass freak as a kid. I grewout of it quickly and purchased Klipsch Heresys for my first real system in 1976.
At that time people really liked Cerwin Vegas for rock because they had such loud bass. I don't think any of us even knew what a subwoofer was. Maybe they weren't invented except for Bud Fried's "Coffin" system.
The new wave of music that was the thing at that time included Punk which was pretty much a distorted wall of sound played really loud. The Heresys didn't dissapoint.
The specs on my Klipsch clearly showed no bass below I think 50Hz. In real life I think they didn't make much bass below 60Hz unless you put them directly on a non carpeted floor. That's what I did. Later I used them as BookShelves really on shelves.

I completely agree with Vlad. I hooked up the SA last night for the first time. Another brick in the wall never sounded better. The bass was tight, clean and detailed, providing a concert atmosphere. The bass could even be felt at lower listening volumes as the low frequencies pressurized my large living room. What bothered me was just as I had the SA dialed in for one cd, the next either was bass overload or not enough. Hoping to find a middle-ground setting soon.

I am in agreement with the Elizabeth camp. It reminds me of terms as accentuated or exaggerated, as unnaturally occurring (bass). I am VERY happy with my Beauhorn Virtuosos w/ Lowther dx4. No added sub or tweeter needed here. They are powered by 45 or 300b amps. If I DO need a bass fix... Sunn 2000s amp @120watts w/cerwin vega 18" cab. Plus, the standard Fender (tweed) champ @ 3.5 watts w/volume knob which goes to "twelve"! No macho-ness here.