2. amps-preamps
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Demise of bass quality in Main speakers

When I was shopping for new speakers in addition it became quite clear that modern day main speakers are being made with smaller bass drivers. And to get larger bass drivers you have to go up to alot more expensive models and still they or on the small side.

The Industry came up with a solution for bass challenged main speakers - buy two subwoofers to solve the problems of the modern age main speaker. And subwoofers now being sold in pairs have 8 inch or 10 inch driver sizes, which are still not big enough unless you spend a lot more money.

I bought a subwoofer with a 12 inch driver 20 years ago, thankfully. When I looked at the newer subwoofers the speaker manufacturer told me that he gets many comments stating that the fullness and rumble ability of modern day subwoofers have been substantially diminished, and he agreed. Isn’t this what subwoofers are all about. Why would I need a subwoofer for better define the lower base area. Fortunately I bought very nice main speakers which had a range spec down to 20 Hz and the bass driver size is 8 inches but I had to pay more to get this larger size.

Why do people put up with this? Put larger bass drivers in Main speakers and then you won’t have as many people complaining about Poor bass quality. Doesn’t this make sense?

emergingsoul
tony1954's avatar
tony1954
1,034 posts
 

@emergingsoul 

"I can see bookshelves needing subwoofers as bookshelves probably aren't known for their Great bass experiences."

You are correct that bookshelf speakers are more likely to benefit from the addition of subwoofers, but even if you have large tower speakers, rated at 20Hz-22kH, you can still have crappy low frequency sound quality if your listening room or your speaker placement are affecting the speakers ability to sound their best.

audioguy85's avatar
audioguy85
2,018 posts
 

My diamond 225's have incredible bass for their size. Even at just 6.5 inches, you can feel the bass. It has a bass port on the bottom that fires into a plinth. I don't currently use them, but they are so darn good, I will not sell them. 

oldrooney's avatar
oldrooney
201 posts
 

I have always felt that, ‘there is no replacement for displacement’ such that the larger the woofer, the better the bass. But I recently read an account by Roger Russell of McIntosh who, in consulting Rudy Bozak and others designed a two-piece speaker (McIntosh XRT-20) that included a 24-tweeter column and a dual 12” woofer (in a separate cabinet). Further experimentation led him to drop the woofer and stick with just the column of tweeters, focusing on the characteristics of the drivers and their ability, like pistons, to drive the bass. By careful arrangement in the column, he was able to produce magnificent bass without the use of a big (woofer) driver. He has a website that details his experiments, experiences, and the results. From what I see in the market, McIntosh has continued his contributions, and Tekton may have improved upon them.

jrwaudio
344 posts
 

My main Tower speakers have built in sub woofers and the speakers are 8 inches wide, and they also have gain control I also have two sub woofers with DSP I've used REW to dial everything in and I must say, the sound stage, inner detail, dynamics no matter what music I'm listening is absolutely captivating  From single female voice only to Daft Punk 

yxcbandit
25 posts
 

To reproduce the bottom octave accurately and musically is expensive and can be difficult in a bad room. If it's an audio only system I would opt for a 12" or 15" sealed, self powered sub like an Hsu, ULS-15 MK2 Subwoofer and two is always better than one to even the bass out in the room. Anything smaller IMO is a bass module, not a true sub-woofer. 

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