Have you moved away from full range to standmount speakers + subs?


I want to know if you have been on a journey moving from a large full range speaker to a smaller one paired wit subs, maybe even four subs.


Maybe you moved away from the big speakers because you had too much bass or you got a better soundstage from the smaller speakers. Let me know what motivated you and if you think it’s better now.


My motivation for wanting to try smaller speakers.


I have the Tekton DI and until a month ago I was using a LM845P SET amp to drive them.

It only sounded good on simple jazz and vocals but on complex music everything was falling apart.

I am not playing loud but I think it was the low 2 ohm load in the midrange that made the LM break down.


I bought a used PS Audio BHK250 and pre and it was like getting new speakers. Never ever had it occurred to me that speaker and amp matching could have such a profound effect.


So I am enjoying my speakers now and listen to music I have avoided like the plague and enjoying it (:


But all of this got me thinking, what if I paired my LM845P with an easy to drive speaker and paired it with some subs?


Then the LM845 could do what it's best at, playing glorious midrange and the subs could play the bass.

So that's my motivation for trying smaller speakers.


I am also hoping that maybe I could get better and more even bass with 2 or 4 subs. Maybe a better soundstage because the small speakers have a very small baffle.

martin-andersen
In my relatively small room (13' x 21', listening on the short axis on one side of the room), I am using 2 small standmounts (Harbeth P3Rs) and one small REL T/5 floor firing sub. I find having a seperate sub useful in order to move it around to get the most satisfying bass response (something you can't do with floorstanders).
Note that my speakers start to fall off at around 75Hz, and are present but lacking in anything below around 65Hz.  They do an admirable job of carrying the musical load without the sub, but gently adding a touch of bottom end really fills out the tonal spectrum (as I nudge up the crossover and balance the volume of the T/5 you can hear the presentation grow in size - the effect is not subtle, and the result is amazing).
Things would be a lot more polite and correct if everyone was forced to use their own name for a handle.

Respect and proper behavior would emerge.

Not this total mess we have come to have on internet forums.

If someone attacks, and one party uses their own name and company connection, the attacker/other should be doing the same.

Otherwise, the attackers integrity (the one with hidden origins) is, IMO and IME, quite suspect, to say the least.

This would never hold up in court, or in a given city or municipalities public meeting and so on. Not in an academic environment, not even at a meeting in a bar ...or even with a few people on the street.

Such behavior of being hidden from view and verbally/etc stabbing others violently, in such ways, is no less a problem and societal/cultural point of shame and personal degradation... than any other deeply, strongly and widely opposed human incorrectness.

I do note that the vast bulk of such nasty anti-societal (literally inhumane, uncivilized, barbaric - by all measure) behaviors are coming from those who attack audio tweaks and high end audio ideals and aspirations in product works and design.
Hey there black WRX guy. Are you a subaru fan? It seems to be your handle “blkwrxwgn”I think Miller Carbon is a Tekton fan. He uses them for his basis of comparison. I use my speakers as a basis of comparison as well. If your sensitive and don’t like hearing about certain speaker companies may I suggest closing your eyes. Do this and MC will never bother you again.
The question for consideration has an undefined variable.... space.  I have moved locations and away from a large dedicated listening room to a home with a much smaller listening room...being just over 12'L x 11+'W with a trayed ceiling nearly 11' H.
My floor-standing speakers went to our HT room.  I ordered W-B Vertex that are 2-way on integrated stand mounted loudspeakers which are -2dB at 44Hz.  The mid/base driver is direct coupled to the amplifier with a 2nd order crossover to the tweeter at 5K Hz.  Imaging, soundstage, dynamics and details are quite amazing.  I've been augmenting the bass with a JL Audio f112.  I play both vinyl and digital music files.
I just took delivery of the W-B Torus system last evening and will unpack them today.  This should solve any integration issues and improve an already overachieving system.
So, the short answer is definitely yes, moving to a 2-way speaker system with subs can be much more desirable.  It just depends on the acoustic space and the way you execute it.