More Power or use subwoofer to boost bass for music

Hi @jl35 that experience of hearing punchy bass out of the B&W 804 D3 was almost 2 years ago in the Magnolia studio of Best Buy.  I wasn't super serious at the time of buying a new pair of speakers, but just happened was able to listen to them that day.   Actually, overall it didn't sound that great in the Magnolia show room.  I thought the speakers were very bright, but it did leave an impression of good bass.  I vaguely remember it was driven by a Rotel Integrated.  I think the source was my iPhone playing 128 kbps AAC files.   Wonder if the compressed AAC music actually generated some good bass.  :-)

I eventually bought the speakers a couple of months ago from a local dealer after auditioning them against a pair of Sonus Faber Olympica Nova II.

Hey @noble100 no need to apologize,  I appreciate all the suggestions and opinions offered by many of you,  and learned quite a bit from this thread.

Cheers!

I wonder if a 128kbps file even has deep bass...I’m one of the lucky ones whose system sounds great with one sub, and the REL made a big difference over my large floor standers, so would definitely recommend an REL trial...the S models have just been replaced, so there are some good deals out there...

Xcool wrote:  

" Actually, overall it didn't sound that great in the Magnolia show room.  I thought the speakers were very bright, but it did leave an impression of good bass.  I vaguely remember it was driven by a Rotel Integrated. " 

My understanding is that Rotels have tone controls, so it is POSSIBLE that the bass (and perhaps also the treble) were boosted when you heard the B&W's.  Boosted bass & treble tends to sound impressive in a quick audition, so back in the day when tone controls were the norm rather than the exception it was something we had to watch out for. 

Schitt makes a very nice and nicely-priced external tone control unit called the Loki which you could add to your system. 

(At RMAF 2017, Schitt was displaying in the room next to ours.  I proposed a trade:  a pair of my speakers for one of their amps.  They declined; apparently my speakers aren't worth a Schitt... sorry, couldn't resist... ) 

Duke

You know I read your question again. What about a single double 8" or 12" OB  servo, like GR Research.  That would fit the bill of purest, a little better.  The H or W frames pressure the room in a way that's not near as intrusive as a conventional bass systems They can reach an honest 20hz, if the signal is there, though. A cleaner, more precise bass.  Maybe purest, can also mean "The Bass lite crowd", not everyone need heart stopping bass, ay?

Regards

Hello.
Sorry that you have bought a pair of B&Ws.
This has always been there achilles heal. They lack in the low octaves. I know of many B&W owners that have had to add sub woofers to fix this issue.But saying that as you said you are a purist and i used to think the same as you. But the REL subs is the answer as they are faster than nearly all others out there. The key is you need 2. Caution if you go to cheap subs this will head you down the path of no return.
Regards Alex