So how many people are using subwoofers

Powered subs just don't work with music. Disappointed with the REL's.

It appears to me that you would benefit more from optimizing what you have now (20Hz-28kHz), and add a sub later if you still felt that it was necessary. Things like dedicated AC mains, cable upgrades (pcs, ics, speaker cable), and possibly stouter amplification, can all have a substantial impact. Not just in the bass, but as someone else commented, across the entire range. I'll third Glen's MIT experience. I just upgraded to MIT Reference speaker cables and ics, and the bass extension and quality was immediately noticeable.

Gold's statement is just un-bright. He just condemned every powered subwoofer from $30k down to $100 without any jusification except that he had a bad experience.

Therefore, with that logic, it should be safe to assume that Gold no longer brushes his teeth because he developed a cavity 20 years ago.

I shall qualify a bit. If one purchases a good or better musical subwoofer and connects it to a good or better high-end system, and if one knows how to properly place and dial-in the sub to match the speakers, then one should be more than satisfied with the reproduction of a larger frequency spectrum.

A response to "Gold": if you have been disappointed with the way that subs reproduce music, then I'm inclined to say that you haven't heard the right sub(s). The Vandersteen 2Wq subs do a wonderful job with music. They are fast, dynamic, and very musical -- perhaps due to their sealed box design, using three 8" drivers rather than one 12-15" driver, and perhaps due to the use of a custom passive crossover that is inserted between the preamp and the power amp.

Please don't get the impression that I am trying to talk you into Vandy subs. However, FWIW, my Vandy 3A Sig's sound even more musical and responsive since adding a pair of 2Wq's, which Richard Vandersteen attributes to the reduced imtermodulation distortion of the main speaker's drivers. The point of my post is to encourage you to explore some other alternatives to subwoofers that may be more musical in your system. Good subwoofers can add a great deal to an already good system.

My Jaguars on their own are pretty strong to the mid 30s. Adding a pair of Titan IIs makes all the difference in the world. It isn't just the added last octave, it is the openess and increased sense of "ease" over the whole upper bass and even into the lower midrange. The soundstage is also significantly expanded and at the same time more focused! I use ACI's passive 85Hz line-level filters in front of my main amp. The Titan II crossover is actually set around 50Hz. You'd think this would result in a hole in the response, but instead it greatly eliminates an otherwise obnoxious room mode at around 70Hz. The bass is far tighter with the subs in the system.