Does "full range" really mean anything?

I think what they mean by Full-Range is you can get by without a subwoofer.

Personally, i think for a speaker to really be full range, it should'nt "get by" without a sub, but not need one at all. At least 30Hz or lower.

-UGAR, PRIME OVERLORD OF BOVARIOUS 12

full range speakers is complete marketing and nothing else period!! Most (98%) of the best speakers in the world (cost no object) are designed to not be full range but to cover a lesser range with better sonics. This of course in the lower octives and not the high frequencies. Even though many cannot hear 20 or even 16 there are harmonics well above 20 even 30 that do effect the lower ranges that we can hear. Deep bass however is a problem in many situations and thus avoided by the better speakers. Room nodes to just name one. Room size to name another. If you do not listen to organ music, then any response above 35htz will be fine for most people- I did say most. Those wanting 20htz bass would do better with one or two subs anyways than to try to get it from two evenly placed l/r speakers that just cancel out deep bass at the listening seat- the bigger the speakers, the more bass that is canceled-proof? Just check out The Absolute Sound back a few issues. The biggest mistake in all of the high end, in my oppinion, is that people buy way too big of speakers for their room size!!

Speakers with response below 30 Hz can convey a lot more venue information, which is important to the music listening experience.

Brian Walsh

Winegasman, it's a lot cheaper to fudge the low end than high end. As one dealer told me, bass is related to cabinet size. Forget spec B.S. You are not going to get Quality, low distortion bass from a small speaker cabinet.
From my subjective experience, you don't get full range from any two-way regardless of what the measurements say. I think you simply need to move a lot of air for bass to have real impact. It may be measurable but that doesn't mean it's "there".
Second, again from my subjective experience, active speakers are way better at producing punchy, powerful bass. Just listen to Mackie's little 824 two-way. Way better than any passive two way I've ever heard.
I heard ATC active 100's with a claimed bass only in the mid 30's. Again, active bass drivers but a three way design in a good-sized cabinet. After hearing these I thought, WOW I have never heard bass like this. True 30 hz bass is, as William Shatner would say: "Big, real big".