Subwoofer or new speakers? - need advice

what happens when he cranks it more than halfway....
his cranky (yet surprisingly tolerant) wife politely asks him to wait until she's out of the house...

signed, his cranky wife... gallerygal
(yes, I'm really his wife, easy-e stepped away from the computer for a second.

sugarbie,

i kicked my wife off the computer. anyway, if i crank it more than half way i hear a "thump" and i fear that the speakers will blow up! what do i do? thanks, easy_e

I concur with Doug- an active x-over is the way to go. You'll eliminate the low frequencies being fed to the Spicas which should, in turn, help to eliminate the thump you're getting. (The thump is probably the speaker trying to play some lower octave input which then impacts the remaining material the speaker is trying to play.) You'll also be able to play much louder if you have a powered sub (or separate amp for the sub) with an active x-over as your existing amp is freed up from power-robbing low frequencies and the Spicas don't have to attempt to play the low stuff, which leaves them free to do what they do best.

If the Spicas really work for you, then experiment with a sub. If you are open to new speakers, it might be a little less expensive in the long run to make a change.

Note that, in my limited personal experience in toying with subs, I've found that one shouldn't expect a sub to play up higher than 60 hz.