35Hz - 25kHz -- A Partial 'Purist'?

Karls, then you haven't heard the Bag End Infra-sub 18 inch subwoofer. Very musical and very tight. Almost too tight if you can believe that. I demo'ed the Bag End for a few weeks and was very impressed. I stepped down a notch musically and went with a Triad Platinum 18 inch sub because it had more flexible dial-in capabilities. But still quite musical.

But, yes, I have an idea what you are saying because most subs under $2k are sloppy and woolly and have little or no definition to them regardless of size. That's why I always use the term musical when I talk about a good or better sub.

I own a pair of Aerial Acoustic 10T's which are an outstanding full-range speaker for the money. But even they only go down to about 25Hz. My Triad Platinum 18 inch subwoofer is quite musical and successfully reproduces down to at least 18Hz. This subwoofer simply supplements the 10T's to a very nice degree. Is it a perfect marriage? I doubt it, but it comes close.

Personally, in my current price range of $1k to $2k, I stay away from all 8", 10", and even 12" inch subs. Why? Because some to many at this size will typically peter out at 30Hz or 25Hz which means they are not really subwoofers in the first place. And at the this price break, there are very few 10 inch quality drivers that can handle the 20Hz regions without breaking up and overextending, congesting, etc..

At the $4k price range and up, the small driver size is less of a concern.

I'm kinda' anxious to get ahold of the Aerial Acoustic SW12 12 inch sub to hear how that sounds.

The Bag End design is VERY unique to say the least. The designer was definitely thinking "outside the box" on that one.

One of my friends used to work for Bag End and told me stories about them. Besides the cabinet's not being built too sturdily ( some reviewers have commented on this ), he told me that many will not meet quality control / spec but are shipped out anyhow. While he was not an audiophile in the least, he told me that he would never buy one knowing what he did. He did know his bass though, as he was both a decent drummer and bass player.

From the reviews on these, i'm assuming that most of them have to be at least pretty close to spec, otherwise they should be getting killed in the reviews. That is, if the reviewers are honest and know how to set subs up to begin with. Then again....

I talked to the designer in person about all of this and he told me it was all hogwash. He also wanted to know what the name of the employee was that told me these "lies" : ) Sean
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Stehno, I am with you on this. I recently tried to hook up REL storm III with my Dunlavy V's(which in my room goes down to 20Hz). I wanted more, REL cut off at its lowest point, but I could always tell the pressure direction, perticularly the V's beng so time,phase and pulse coherent. I , now use Rel for movies only.

Sean, the construction quality of the Bag End was certainly not the best. That was another reason I did not want to keep it. However, even though it's been more than two years since I've demo'ed it in my home, I was quite impressed with it's low-end bass reproduction and how tight it was for an 18 inch subwoofer. Apparently, it's impressed reviewers as well.

Stehno: You're right in an absolute sense, but all systems involve compromise--at least all price-constrained systems do. I'm not sure I buy your premise that there is "much" musical information below 30 Hz, which is why I'm willing to compromise on a system that doesn't go that low. But if the information that IS down there is important to you, then that's not a parameter you'd want to compromise on.