Are big subwoofers viable for 2 channel music?

You don't know what you are missing until you experience it. 

Frequencies below 20Hz add realism when watching movies. In real life if a train rolls by, or there is a gun shot or explosion, there are frequencies you feel. The sensation added by low level deep frequencies can contribute to emotion during movies. The ability to reproduce those frequencies is a good thing. 

There are frequencies below 20Hz used in some of today's music. 

Smodtactical, the best advice you have received is to listen. When things settle down from the virus, find as many listening opportunities as you can. Continue to do research here and other sites. 

The construction of your room matters (concrete or suspended floor etc.) Your preference for bass matters. Some people love sealed subs, others do not. 

I have two JTR S2 subwoofers in a 14x29x8 room. I use a mini-dsp to adjust the subs. There are times I have caught myself thinking, wow, I paid all that money for these subs and I can't even hear them. Then the music or sound track calls for it and I get a big smile across my face. These subs are special. 

You are planning a large room, bass requires displacement of air. Larger drivers move more air. 

I am in SC. You are welcome to come listen when things are safer. Oh, by the way, my in room response is +/- 3 db from 100 to 6 Hz. I have also added a BOSS platform as detailed in The Hideaway Theater thread on another forum. Large sub-woofers can be great!

Enjoy the journey, and have fun!

John    

John I like your approach. I infact may go dual RS2s as well. But I might go ported just to maximize the low end extension especially for movies with the captivator 4000.

Or sealed S7201 or ported TV42Ipal.
But I think im settled on going for big subs.
Another approach would be 4x 18 spread around my space for a smoother response.

Smodtactical,
     The subs I bought were being sold used, locally. A friend who had listened to my system before suggested I needed large sub-woofers. That same friend told me these were available. I listened the first day without purchasing, after that I could not get them out of my mind.    

The S2 is my first sealed sub-woofer and I must admit, they took some getting used too. I never realized it but I like/am used to distortion. These subs are so different than what I have ever heard before. They are tuneful, effortless, and can send you running for the remote. I know it is a cliche but I am hearing things in familiar movies and music I did not realize were there. 

The JTR 4000 promises to be a pretty amazing sub-woofer. The JTR 2400 would probably be easier to place and is also special.   

My advice is don't spend any money yet. Research as much as you can (Google is your friend here),  give appropriate weight to opinions that have actually heard the speakers in question, and listen for yourself. 

   

Hello jwmorris/John,

I just wanted to respond to a few of your statements on your last post:

"Oh, by the way, my in room response is +/- 3 db from 100 to 6 Hz." and "There are frequencies below 20Hz used in some of today’s music".

Your profile has no system details and I’m wondering if you could list the main speakers and subs you use in your system? It seems like you use your system for both stereo music and HT playback, just as I do.
     Your stated in-room bass response of +/- 3 db from 100 to 6 Hz is impressive. My Audio Kinesis Debra 4-sub distributed bass array system only has a bass response of +/- 3 db from 100 to 20 Hz.
     However, I’m fairly certain that 4K Ultra HD Bluray discs and streaming videos don’t contain any audio content below 20 Hz. I’m virtually 100% certain that no commercially available stereo music content, whether issued on LP, CD, SACD or Hi-Res digital file, contains any audio music content below 20 Hz because not one of the numerous individuals, that I’ve asked to identify a single specific example of a stereo music recording with bass below 20 Hz, has been able to do so. I’ve even searched for a single example myself without any luck. Can you name a single example? Anybody reading this thread know of a single example?
     My main point, which I believe you likely agree with, is that it makes little sense to have an audio system capable of bass down to 6 Hz if there’s no HT or music content that contains bass that deep. Are you sure you’re not listening and feeling bass that’s going down to 20 Hz and just thinking it’s going down to 6 Hz?
In my room, even bass down to only 20 Hz sounds and feels very deep with powerful impact and realism on both HT and music. I don’t perceive I’m missing a thing.

Tim

Tim --

...I’m fairly certain that 4K Ultra HD Bluray discs and streaming videos don’t contain any audio content below 20 Hz. I’m virtually 100% certain that no commercially available stereo music content, whether issued on LP, CD, SACD or Hi-Res digital file, contains any audio music content below 20 Hz because not one of the numerous individuals, that I’ve asked to identify a single specific example of a stereo music recording with bass below 20 Hz, has been able to do so. I’ve even searched for a single example myself without any luck. Can you name a single example? Anybody reading this thread know of a single example?

This is tangential to your former examples of arguments in the vein of "there’s no stereo information in the bass, neither recorded nor perceived; symmetrical placement of subs is moot (at a not specified cross-over frequency)" etc., and it goes to show what you’d like to feel better about while trying to convince others into believing as well. Sorry to be blunt about this.

Let’s make this clear once and for all: there IS content below 20 Hz en masse certainly as found on Blu-ray’s and UHD’s (look over at highdefdigest.com and their Blu-ray/UHD reviews, where there are occasional bass charts to prove there’re numerous examples of titles with infrasonic information into the single digits), and while I’ve seen no similar documentation on whether CD’s contain information below 20Hz I know of several individuals who have a music collection to strongly benefit from sub systems capable of much below 20Hz reproduction (compared to "just" having honest capabilities down to 20Hz), which is at least indicative of source material actually containing information in these "nether regions." Head over to the AVSForum and see with your own eyes the sub set-ups these people have in their homes, and ask them whether <20Hz reproduction matters. Visit databass.com and ask the same. The answer, I promise you, while be quite unanimous. People may not all agree on the priority of attaining infrasonics (and the compromises potentially involved here), but most won’t deny that frequencies down to ~10Hz (below that to truly matter requires rather massive radiation area and power to make a difference) are perceivable/felt, and can have a big impact on the experience. The proof is IN THE EATING of the pudding, but there’s documentation to back it up as well - should you feel inclined.

My main point, which I believe you likely agree with, is that it makes little sense to have an audio system capable of bass down to 6 Hz if there’s no HT or music content that contains bass that deep. Are you sure you’re not listening and feeling bass that’s going down to 20 Hz and just thinking it’s going down to 6 Hz?
In my room, even bass down to only 20 Hz sounds and feels very deep with powerful impact and realism on both HT and music. I don’t perceive I’m missing a thing.

With my own sub set-up I’ve consciously chosen to forego <20Hz because I favor bass reproduced from horns, tapped horns at that (this requires of you to actually buy into that bass isn’t just bass, be that via distributed arrays or not), and while infrasonics can be had with bass horns they simply end up being ginormous (so, a practical consideration), or with tapped horns in particular it means giving up extension in the upper frequency range, eating away sensitivity (though it’ll stay higher than any typical direct radiation sub) while continuing to have the physical size grow into behemoths when seeking an ever lower tune. When in my tapped horn subs the drivers move just a couple of millimeters with content down to 20Hz, I don’t feel I’m missing anything either - indeed it’s a visceral, awesome experience that shakes the air. I absolutely agree with you on the sufficiency felt here, although it’s not only about mere extension but also, and importantly about how these frequencies are reproduced.

However, I’ve heard what <20Hz can do when reproduced forcefully, and it adds a dimension difficult to describe other than it has emotional impact (as @jwmorris expressed above) and can also lead to a sense of unease and even intimidation. It makes a difference in particular with Blu-ray’s/UHD’s, and while I’m a movie buff and know of what I’m missing with my choice of sub system, I feel I gain sonically where it matters mostly to my ears, which is from ~20Hz on up.