I don't view a sub as a band aid. That infers it fixes something that is damaged or defective otherwise. If integrated well with good small monitors in particular, it is there optionally to add something that was not there to start with, and only as wanted or needed.
There are many threads around arguing the pro/cons of subs so no sense re-hashing all that.
There are many threads around arguing the pro/cons of subs so no sense re-hashing all that.