why use towers if you've got a sub??

Ray, if you look at the very top of the page, you'll see in the second line "learn-forums-home theater." Still, I'm not sure why whether one has two, three, five, or seven channels really matters with regard to the original question. Unless I'm missing something, differences between two channel and home theater subwoofer use is only a matter of implementation and quantity. I suppose the OP's original question could be interpreted as asking whether there is a better alternative to the THX camp's way of implementing bass management; letting all bass below 80hz. be sent to the subwoofer through the LFE output of the processor?

In many applications, Rrog's point, "Monitors speakers with a sub also give you the flexability of pulling the monitors into the room for a more spacious sound while not sacrificing bass performance," is perhaps the most cogent in a thread with lots of misinformation.

The notion of listening to a sub seems a clear indication the sub is not set up properly. You really shouldn't hear speakers, just a well imaged soundstage. What you do want from a sub is low distortion with minimal overhang. You don't want to be aware of the sub(s) as a sound source.

Personally, I use two towers that are pulled into the room with two 15" subs, but my system does both music and HT, and my processor permits listening with the mains full range or crossed to the subs with but a click of the remote.

db

Great question and I'd be surprised if there weren't many different opinions and even more forthcoming.

"Textbook" in a home theater setup, you are likely right. However, there's always an exception and let me explain my perspective.

In my opinion, with an LFE channel from the source, then there is really no big, huge advantage to having towers except that many towers tend to push more air. Thus, if you have a larger room, towers are better than monitors. Secondly, even with an LFE, 80 isn't necessarily the best crossover in your particular room. Yes, it's the THX standard, but sometimes you get a better/flatter response by crossing over at 60-75, depending on the crossover options in your sub or pre-pro.

(As an aside, studies from Floyd Toole show that the best setup in a home theater environment is to have 4 subs all at the mid point of each of the four walls. This provides the smoothest overall bass response in the room. These proven research runs counter to the "conventional" wisdom of one sub and in the corner. This model of four subs in the mid-wall points is now the accepted, ideal method for integrating subs in a setup.)

If you are watching TV or listening to stereo sources, then there is not necessarily a dedicated LFE channel. Thus, in many of those cases, the low frequencies are likewise stereo. You could argue that you can't "hear" the low frequencies, but I'd conjecture that you will get better integration top to bottom with towers. My example is simple here. I have Revel M22 mains and the B15 sub. Spectacular combination. I listened to the Revel Ultima2 Salons and the bass was so tight I was amazed there was no sub. That perfection of the crossovers with a tower speaker simply cannot be put into words. You need to experience it to understand.

That again goes with the previous poster about subs. My Revel B15 is a spectacular sub and handles both music and movies exceptionally well. The REL units as mentioned are also absolutely fantastic subs. Most subs don't get to level of the Revel or REL they get very sloppy. Thus, if you don't have an utterly spectacular sub, you can certainly get better overall performance by having towers and a sub.

I don't know ultimately what your goal is with your question, but my advice is to always try and buy the best quality you can within your budget. If I personally have a choice, I try and go with the higher quality speaker--even if it is a monitor--because you tend to get the better tweeter and midrange. Then you can complement with a stellar sub and have a truly magnificent home theater and music experience.

I triple checked,the way I arrived to this post has nothing to indicate HT.And im not wanting to start an argument about this,just wanted to point out that I and maybe others might not have known that this is posted in the HT section. Not a big deal,Peace

Ray,
I also arrived at this post without realizing that it was home theater. It is right there at the top though now that I'm here. I have to admit in years of hanging out here I never looked or cared or realized the category was there. I didn't know because Baranowski never caught me and asked to see my hall pass.

Regarding the subject, for me it's towers and two subs. No HT, two channel only and it sounds great. I have tried most every other combo of sub, subs, no sub, monitors, and towers and for me this works best.