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

Bizango1.... hall pass.... really? all i was saying is there are two vast option ranges when you begin to talk 2 channel set up in relation to tower speakers as aposed to home theater set up with tower speakers. I just want the original poster to have the answers to his questions about HOME THEATER because that is what he is asking about. i was just going off of experience with this forum and getting two channel guys options when i was just looking for home theater answers.
it is just the same when you start to look at reviews for higher end speakers.... when you are looking for impressions on home theater applications.... it is almost always two channel information. try looking up b&w 802, for home theater applications.... good luck in finding that information... even my 804's have very limited reviews for ht applications.....

So if i have offered....sorry....but.... he was asking questions about home theater stuff...

I see it ,my humble apologys guys.

Baranowski, sorry-you just kind of hit my funny bone when you steered the discussion back to the intended subject and you couldn't hear me chuckling when I replied. Maybe you could help out with the "Fuses that matter" thread. (Chuckling again-hopefully you are, too.)

Thanks for all the thoughts so far. While i recognize that i am posting on the HT forum, i am interested in both two channel and theater equally. I've got a single large room (about 4000 cu ft) and need to do one system. I am leaning towards a hybrid approach:

1. Decent tube preamp with HT pass thru
2. Decent monoblocks or stereo amp for main left and right front
3. Basic avr to process and power center and 4 surrounds. Maybe get a better amp for center channel later
4. Mid to hi end main speakers, cheaper surrounds, full range
5. Basic sub, maybe a hsu only for HT

The other approach i was thinking of was two seperate systems. Something super efficient and dynamic for the HT and a big sub, plus something tubey and smooth for the two channel with totally seperate speakers, cables, sources, etc. i have read here that alot of people have seperate HT and stereo rigs, but is that in the same room? I can't get my head around having all those boxes and cables, etc everywhere.

Thoughts?

Photon46, well put.

As a working musician, in all the substantial post production studios I've experienced they've all had ELF subwoofers present along with some sophisticated equalization. Typically, from the same manufacture to match their main speaker systems such as Genelec, Tannoy, Meyer Labs, and Avalon Acoustics, to name a few. In February I was at a private studio in Nashville using JBL Everest mains with two updated Velodyne 1812's. I have never seen a REL sub in any professional system.

Whenever I ask the question, why not simply use large truly full range speaker systems? The answer I get has to do with control of the ELF and its relationship within the room.

But to the original posters reference to the typical 80Hz home theater crossover point. The need in your question could easily be considered subjective and most tower speakers are not actually full range unless they contain powered subs within such as Vandersteen's.