"My question is, why go with a 5000 if it still requires a sub?"
No doubt, all smaller speakers including Walshes can play better when amp and speaker work is offloaded to a powered sub.
5000 does not necessarily require a sub though. I feel no need for subs with my 5s, nor with my 100s even in the right sized rooms.
Adding powered subs always ups the ante in terms of output capacity in most any case. But there are ups and downs with any solution, including subs, along the lines commonly discussed.
Adding separate subs means that you are now the speaker designer responsible for the integration top to bottom. How well that all plays out will depend.
No doubt, all smaller speakers including Walshes can play better when amp and speaker work is offloaded to a powered sub.
5000 does not necessarily require a sub though. I feel no need for subs with my 5s, nor with my 100s even in the right sized rooms.
Adding powered subs always ups the ante in terms of output capacity in most any case. But there are ups and downs with any solution, including subs, along the lines commonly discussed.
Adding separate subs means that you are now the speaker designer responsible for the integration top to bottom. How well that all plays out will depend.