Adding Sub to current system

Wolf,

I like the Preludes, but I do think that you're overselling them a bit. I own a pair and agree that they will amaze you with their ability to reproduce rock music from such a tiny footprint, but...

The Preludes' have no output in the deep bass, at least in my room. I moved them briefly into my listening room (they're featherweight) to measure their on-axis response with my RTA system (studio EQ wizard, at that time), because I do this with all of the speakers that I own. (I'm building my knowledge base as best I can.)

The Preludes are very satisfying in their overall tonality and, particularly, bass response because they manage some very clever trade-offs to present a "sense" of deep bass where none is present. This goes well beyond the ol' mid-bass hump trick and is more a function of a smoothly falling FR from their low end peak (pretty sure it was low 50s in my room) right on thru the midrange, where things begin to reverse themselves. There is usable, tho rapidly declining output into the mid/high 40s - not half bad for a speaker this size.

I've never meausred for THD (don't have the capability) but I wouldn't want to see those results, either. These speakers still live in my gym where they are played loud enough to distract me from the fact that I'm on a treadmill. Distortion was quickly evident at the high spls I initially tried and I've backed off from LOUD to loud. Break-up can still be heard ocasionally when the program material gets challenging.

I bought them a while back, maybe in '07 - IIRC, so I'm doing my best to recall the details here, but I remember that this misbehavior at volume was also evident on the demo pair I auditioned (a local dealer had special ordered them for a customer who bailed on the purchase) and nearly dissuaded me from buying them. However, floor space is very tight in my gym and the Preludes proved the best compact option at my price point, so I made the trade-off, and I'm happy that I did. They still get "worked out" regularly (pun intended).

It's always possible that these speakers will behave differently in a different room, but IME...

The Prelude is a very good little speaker that provides really satisfying bass from a tiny footprint. They are a great value when you need the impact of a kick-drum, but I don't expect that at very high SPLs and I don't expect the lowest register of bass guitar/organ/tuned drum to have the same presence. IMHO, it's not reasonable to expect the Prelude to hang with a subwoofer and -in my room- it doesn't.

Marty

Hey...I thought I had the last word! The "Ludes" (nice huh?) are the best speakers EVER and if you don't agree I'm gonna thrown my drink at the wall. There...I feel better already.

I tend to get rid of things I don't like and bagged a very expensive "full range-ish" (ha) 2 way because of upper mid congestion, thus necessitating a speaker search...I heard the "Ludes" (there it is again!) at a friend's, liked what I heard, and scored a pair VERY cheaply on line. They arrived with one woofer not working (bad) that was fixed easily by my local tech (good). I actually spoke on the phone to Alan Yun (he's pretty interesting) about the "Ludes" and he had some suggestions about biwiring (I tried both ways...don't do it..."less coherent" as Yun says) and a price for the woofer I eventually didn't need.

I completely agree that the bass response isn't as deep on its own as one might prefer, and my point is merely that the bass that is there sounds "right" somehow, and is, after all, there. I did a simple "test tones" check with the "Ludes" away from the walls (sub off of course) and was surprised at how low they actually go before giving up. I've always used 'em with the REL anyway. High SPLs? I would not use the "Ludes" as main speakers at a Lady Gaga show but in my listening area they're fine.

I don't like EQ in my home system as I think well designed gear doesn't need it, and room acoustics are a fact of life that I actually like. I just shoot for good sound at my listening sweet spot and the "Lude-REL" combo hits it well. For the money...and I mean not a lot of money...nice smallish drivers with a well placed sub can amaze. I certainly detect no REL distortion, but I think I exhibit some self control in its use albeit not so much in my posts.