Why I'm not adding a sub to my 2-way monitors for music

Personally, I feel DSP and it’s ilk "spoils the cow’s milk". I would never think to alter the eq of what the producers in the studio intended.

I do tend to agree with the legendary Floyd tool though is that EQ in the mid and treble may spoil the entire reason you picked your speakers to begin with but if you are adding a sub, you are adding a tone control. That’s just facts. You are already outside of the pure, well disciplined land of hifi purity and the goddess of music and all things holy will no longer show you her face. We are already damned.

What EQ gives you, and DSP in particular, is the ability to control big room nodes which can add 20dB or more to the bass in narrow peaks. 20dB is 100x the power at those spots. In the example on my blog the room nodes are a lot less pronounced but when I had those issues they were awful and EQ was the difference between using a sub or not.

Having been spoiled by measurement equipment, and hearing and reading stories of audiophiles attempting to integrate a sub or speaker to a room without it, I simply cannot imagine attempting the process by ear. Life is too short.

FYI, added room data to the blog post.

Hey @ozzy62  Thanks for being the only person who missed me. :)  I have learned with discussions like this that they come to more satisfying endings if A'goners contribute and have their say instead of me trying to reply to every post.

@hilde45 - Thanks for your eloquent synopsis of my work regarding subwoofers and music lovers.  It's true, in my mind, that getting a subwoofer is like getting a dog.  There's a lot to consider about it's food, mental happiness, exercise, etc. before committing to one, and yet dogs are wonderful.  Same for subs.

I have updated my posting with information about the room, and also the statement that frankly my results were surprising and not typical. 

if you are adding a sub, you are adding a tone control. That’s just facts. You are already outside of the pure, well disciplined land of hifi purity and the goddess of music and all things holy will no longer show you her face. We are already damned.

People accuse me of all kinds of over the top exaggeration and insult, but I've never even come close to vilifying anything as unholy and damned. G-d Eric the stuff you get away with. Tsushima and his little crew of familiars would be all over me in a nanosecond if I said you are impure and damned to hell for your choice of speaker. Can't fathom even a shred of it but I must admit, you got your act down son. That you do.

You go, girl.

@edcyn  what sub are you using with your Nola Boxers?  I’m looking to buy a sub for mine and curious about your setup.  I’ve been looking at smaller sub like SVS SB3000 and REL t7x.  As to OP post, I think it’s great that he was able to tune his room to the point where he doesn’t feel he needs the sub.  That clearly took some effort and gave me some pointers on what I can do in my room to improve it.  Thanks, OP.