Adding a sub - what will I loose?


It seems that adding another piece of equipment to the audio chain would degrade the sound quality to the main speakers (air, immediacy, the mid range, etc). Or am I way off here??

Currently have a preamp with no sub-out and low output tube amp. Plan to use line level to the sub and then out to the amp. That way speakers would not play full range (above 80hz).

tghooper
Look at Rel subs with the Neutrix cable. Hooks to your speaker cable jacks and works wonderfully.


I would go with the Wilson Benesch Torus Infrasonic Generator.. There is no better way to get those low notes at electrostatic speed.. It will cost you about $10,000, and it is much better then the Rel..

or you could ask yourself a couple of questions?

1. Does my system totally involve me with its realistic and natural sound.
2. Is the presentation relaxed enough to allow me to listen for long hours.
3. Does my system sound pure? Or is it a little blurry?
4. Am I looking for more bass because I really can't answer yes to any of the above and I don't know what to do next?

Something to think about..

Jim
I'm with Bizango1 - it'll probably be a big gain. I run my mains the way you plan to, with a high-pass filter (in my case 60Hz). I go further and bi-amp the mains - I run a full-spectrum direct signal to the midrange-tweeter sections, and high-pass only to the woofers. I use a y-cable to split the preamp signal. The improvement in my system overall is amazing. I'm very happy with the result.
What you will lose is realism, especially for the timbres of acoustic instruments...