To Sub or not to Sub...?

Once you have it you can't go back. The excellent points noted in the first post on this thread over focus on the lowest possible note. A great sub isn't only producing the lowest note, its giving you great sound across a broad range (and HT explosions). And since bass spreads out, you are filling out the sound throughout your listening room. I use Talon Khite monitors, which are great on violins, going down to 35Hz. But once you've heard them do Edgar Meyer's double bass or YoYo Ma's cello accompanied by the ROC sub, you'll never go back to just main speakers. REL are very good, too, and made to blend with other speakers unlike a lot of subs which are made for HT.

Definitely sub. Just try it. Especially with classical, and particularly with organ music. It's one of those "makes a bigger difference than science can explain" kind of things, in my opinion.

chas

Some speakers (usually very expensive) really don't need subs or a sub makes very marginal difference. Then there's the question of power. Bass frequencies require lots of power while higher frequencies do not. By adding a sub with active cross-over and its own amp, you free the other amp to reproduce just the less power demanding higher frequencies. Two benefits: more head room less clipping and usually more phase coherence due to the coil-less electronic cross-over. Bottom line--much clearer sound with the subsonic signature alluded to above. If you need bass, this definitely the way to go.

Definitely Sub. Onhyw61 is correct. All instruments have a larger sound signature than the note being played. The same reason a large regular speaker will sound fuller and richer that a small one. The Sub will fill in the lower half of the sound signature that most all speakers lack. It is amazing how a good sub will improve the detail and space between all of the instruments (even wind instruments). After I got one (a REL Storm III), I quickly discover what I was missing in the lower octaves. Recordings that once had strings playing low (Bass & Cello), all of a sudden had the Bass and Cellos clearing playing different notes in harmony.

Sub ... no doubt. I agree that it is the single most difficult thing to add to your system and if the rest is marginal at the start you'll be throwing gas on a fire. The thing that's usually missing for me from real live music in the hall to ANY system is the signature of the room the recording was made in. I made lots of recordings in college ... choirs, orchestras, soloists ... all types of groups, all kinds of equipment ... ALWAYS, I would find that I couldn't 'feel' the room unless I had a system in front of me with true full range extension.

Before you discount my college recording experiences, know that the department head and guru of all things audio at the school was a guy named Gary Galo ...