Budget bookshelf system for acoustic bass

There's no such thing as a monitor that goes down to 40 Hz. Speakers that size start tailing off somewhere in the 70s. My suggestion would be a small monitor like the PSB Alpha or Paradigm Titan, along with as good a sub in the same line as you can afford.

That is tuff unfortinally you need mass to move air that is really the bottom line. Now without getting into acoustics to much monitors and wall speaker usually don't have much bass because of the size and the fact that if you add bass the speaker becomes more bassey without accurate bass and just sounds worse. If you add a sub you have the problem of the sub not amplifying the same as the speaker and the bass getting heavy at some volumes and light at others. But you will need a sub and that is a expensive speaker.

Vanderssteen has solved this by using a crossover on your pre amp out to cut the bass form the mains and send it to the sub. they also connect the sub to the speaker out so it gets amped the same. You can pick up a 2w pretty cheep 500 or so and add that the trouble is there is a little set up involved. Not sure if other subs do this.

Hope this helps, also placement will effect your bass allot try to keep the speakers away from walls and out of a cabinet.

Well, it partly depends on what you consider a monitor. If you're talking about the really small monitors with a 4-5 inch mid-woofer, then 40Hz is really not an option. If you get up to 6-8 inch woofers you might find something that goes there but it will of course be in a larger cabinet. You do need to be a little more careful in making a selection because integrating a larger woofer like that with a tweeter requires a good tweeter that can cross lower since mid-woofers of that size have a little harder time reaching up into the upper midrange cleanly.

As far as the instrument itself, the 'typical' bass has a lowest frequency of about 42Hz (open E). There are of course exceptions with specific instruments that have lower fundamentals. Much of the sound is harmonics though, so even if you can't get quite that low you may be satisfied with the sound.

One thought that comes to mind is the B&W 602's. They get down to about 50Hz and can be found for $600. The 603's got a rather nice write-up in Stereophile recently but of course only you can decide if they are your cup of tea.

You should definitely play with placement. In general, most speakers will gain bass by being placed on a bookshelf or close to a wall. Unfortunately, this increased bass is often somewhat peaky and can be a bit muddy. Depends to some degree on the speaker and the crossover design. In the "old" days, speakers were often designed without baffle step and so their frequency response actually dropped off quicker than "spec" if you moved them out into space. Manufacturers now do a better job of designing with the specific goal to be flatter in the bass region even in free space. Move them around until you get what you like.

I forgot about these: any of the Audio Note speakers (type K, J, and E) are wonderful and excel at things like acoustic bass. In fact, the J and E types can be run without subs; the type E can run to mid 20s and is very efficient.

The Type E speakers range in price (new) from 3500 to ...well, a damned lot of money. A used pair is the way to go. They are hardly "bookshelf" speakers, though, as they are fairly large box speakers and a two way design with a 8" woofer and a dome tweeter.

I have owned the K and the J and listened to the E extensively. They are all wonderfully "musical" and should be on the short list of anybody looking for a quality speaker.

08-05-05: Pabelson
"There's no such thing as a monitor that goes down to 40 Hz."

Actually you are mistaken. The Totem Mani-2 extends below 40Hz and is a Monitor.

KiD