More Power or use subwoofer to boost bass for music


Hi,   just want to know if anyone can offer their opinions on how to boost the bass when listening to 2 channel music.

I just got a pair of B&W 804 D3 and would like to get more bass out of the speakers.   I remember the bass was pretty punchy when I heard it in the dealer showroom, but I don't seem to get that in my setup.   I currently have Parasound A31 power amp with 250 watts per channel.

So the question is whether I should get a more power amp, or add subwoofer to my 2 channel music.  I'm a little bit of a purist and would prefer not to use a subwoofer for music, but I'm open to this option.

I would definitely appreciate if anyone can share their experience/opinion.   Thanks very much.
128x128xcool
The idea of a “swarm” of subs is based on evening out the nodes. It’s an admirable goal but rarely practical.
This statement is false. A distributed bass array such as the Swarm is far more effective at getting the bass right in a room than room correction or bass traps; its a more elegant approach.


This isn't to say that using bass traps and room correction won't help, but if you have a standing wave in the room (which can be a reason why a single sub or pair of subs don't seem to make much bass despite having plenty of power and the bandwidth needed) all the room correction will do is make the amps make more power at the frequency of the standing wave cancellation. No amount of power will solve a standing wave, since the energy is being cancelled.


Bass traps don't intelligently work at the frequency needed to prevent the standing wave (which is the result of the bass waveform bouncing off of the wall behind the listener and cancelling itself at the listening position)- they work at all bass frequencies.


Now if you combine all three then you can get spectacular results.
Jesus, the 4 sub cult is strong here.
Just physics. Cults, to my knowledge aren't bassed (see what I did there?) on physics.


IMO its fairly easy to set up a set of Swarms in a smaller room and keep it neat, since the Swarms are designed to work placed against the walls and also work best if the placement is asymmetrical.


Of course you can get good bass with only one sub, but it has to be placed in exactly the right location, which (more often than not) may not be the most convenient.

Vandersteen = 11 bands of EQ with more cut than boost with EQ centers set on typical room nodes not typical 1/3 octave bands... some science cult thinking at work there... since 1977 and still going strong and I might add a supporter of swarm IF done correctly so as not to muck of the stereo image...
But since statistics is science, let’s consider the “odds “ of getting 4  or as some would say 5 objects placed in a convenient location vs. one....

having a bit of fun Ralph, you are a true warrior for the science and the music
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