Will a subwoofer add depth and clarity to my system, or just bass?

Hello hornguys/Jim,

     My mistake, I had open-heart surgery in 2008 and had a stroke immediately after.  I'm much better now but my memory may have been damaged more than I realized.  Given your info, I must have bought one of your initial print copies and read it while recuperating in 2009.

     Funny, I'd swear it was closer to 20 than 10 years ago but I now know it has to be 10.  Thank you for the correction and I apologize for my faulty memory.
     I find it encouraging that you know Duke and have communicated with James.  You stated "I do disagree with some of what they espouse, as they probably disagree with me".  I'm curious as to whether this concerns in-room bass response and subs, care to elaborate?
      It could be my faulty memory acting up again, but I still believe and wish your very good book contained more information on the best methods to integrate subwoofers into one's system.  I now know it's a bit more complex achieving better bass sound in a room than better midrange and treble sound through personal experience and research. 
      I think your book would benefit from a more thorough discussion on getting better bass sound; aspects such as the difference between utilizing 1-4 subs, various sub positioning strategies for each quantity of subs, sub bass driver sizes, sealed versus ported subs, advantages of low pass filtering the main speakers versus running them full-range as well as the other bass system adjustments that enable seamless bass integration with the mains such as sub volume, crossover frequency, low-pass filter slope and sub phase settings.
     Thank you for sharing your vast audio experience and knowledge for so many years.  I think I speak for all members when I state that we'd definitely appreciate hearing your thoughts and opinions more frequently on this forum going forward on whatever subjects you choose to contribute.

Tim

Or not?. Again appreciated your comments. Am I wrong?

R.

Hello rauliruegas,

     "The information in the recording R2R (part of the overall recording process) comes in stereo way including bass range and is only when starting the LP cutting process when the low bass switched to mono due the severe limitations in the LP analog alternative."  

      True, the reel to reel analog master tape would include separate and unique L/R deep bass range information that would need to be summed to mono prior to being used for the LP cutting process, due to physical limitations of the LP format. 
     "Cd's comes with low bass signal in stereo not mono."
      False, cds have traditionally had their low bass below a certain frequency summed in mono even though the cd format has no stereo bass limitations and the analog R2R master tape with true stereo bass could have been transferred directly. 
     This makes no sense to me, I've yet to hear a good explanation of why this was the accepted method among cd recording engineers and it seems no one's been able to name even a single cd that contains true stereo bass information.  Can you name a cd, rauliruegas? 

     The good news is that, if these analog R2R master tapes still exist in good condition, they can simply be transferred to the even higher capacity 24 bit/96 Khz digital FLAC or WAV file format and be preserved virtually forever. Exact digital copies of the original analog masters could also be downloaded by consumers like us for a reasonable fee.  Listening to exact copies of analog R2R masters, how great is that?

    The bad news as I understand it, however, is that some download companies such as HD TRACKS sell downloads advertised as hi-rez that are nothing more than Redbook cds, with summed mono bass as a bonus, literally just transferred to a higher capacity digital format or bucket. 
    IT IS LITERALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR THESE SUPPOSED HI-REZ DOWNLOADS TO SOUND EVEN AN IOTA BETTER THAN THE ORIGINAL REDBOOK CD SINCE IT'S JUST AN EXACT COPY OF THE ORIGINAL REDBOOK CD!

     Sorry for yelling but this really gets my panties in a bunch.  At best this is seriously false advertising and at worst may be legally fraudulent.  In either case, I believe HD Tracks needs to explain themselves.  
     HD Tracks customers must be very disappointed with their downloads and wondering why they don't notice any quality improvements.  Any HD Tracks customers care to explain their experiences?

Tim 

Dear @noble100  : Makes no sense what you posted about CD recording engenners decision.
Is the first time that I read what you posted about and this week I will my own low bass tests in my system looking for that " mono " or " stereo " sound. I have a lot of movie soundtracks with precise low bass recording " parts " and in some of them I have its LP couple too and my preamp is dual mono with separate L/R attenuators. We will see what I'm able to find out.

R.

Hello rauliruegas,

     You need to be more specific about my comments not making sense.  I'm a bit biased but I think they make perfect sense.
     The main point is whether you're aware of ANY cd containing discrete L/R channel deep bass information?
     Careful with your tests, please don't disregard my comments about mono deep bass being perceived as stereo deep bass with the directional assistance of higher frequency harmonics/overtones being heard from the main speakers.  This is a real psycho acoustic effect that I've experienced in my own system.
     Thinking about this further, my thoughts are that, ultimately, it's best just to run any subs in one's system in mono.  The reason being that the deep bass will be perceived as stereo deep bass regardless of whether the recorded content contains discrete L/R channel bass information or not.  I know this is true with my ears/brain, with my bass system and in my room.

     My mom always tells me I'm special but the truth is more likely that everybody's able to perceive mono bass as stereo bass with the assistance of additional directional information coming from the main speakers.

Tim