does a subwoofer kill stereo sound?

6550c,

My understanding is that high quality amplification is less important for bass than for other areas of the audio frequency band. But yes, there are certainly passive subs that let you choose the amp to use with the subs. I use a pair of passive NHT subs with 2 bridged Emotiva BDP-1s. The main advantage of this for me is the ease of dialing down the level of the bass easily for late-night listening. Most of the subwoofer attenuators are around the back. and awkward to reach for...

6550c

Your comment spoke to me . People that want more bass are really just not getting enough satisfaction from their system. They seem not to know why, so of course they seem to blame the lack of bass.

Bad move...... If the system was satisfying the bass would be the least of the problems.

You are right on.

woith some speakers only going down to ,,say 50 hz, your missing alot so maybe a sub is right in some systems.

sounds real audio; I am with you. Subs exagerate the lower end. Watching a movie great use a sub. Listening to music, NO THANKS! Take a good/great full range speaker over a sub any day.

Respectfully disagree that subs necessarily exaggerate the lower end. In my experience, the only time this happens is when the crossover is not properly set and/or the output is too high and/or the sub is not properly positioned.

Seamless integration of a sub-based system is not always simple, but once achieved, the end result is absolutely musical.