Will a subwoofer add depth and clarity to my system, or just bass?

I use a dual 8” sealed sub with Silverline Minuets in my bedroom. The speakers are wired off of the sub, and the sub volume is set low.

The sub seems to add additional dimension (and lower bass) to the music/soundtrack. I notice the difference when the volume triggers the sub to kick in. I think I would miss the sub if it were removed from system.

Regards,
gary

A subwoofer to reproduce and enhance the lowest frequencies will definitely add "presence" to your music and movie watching. Most natural sounds are in the low frequency range. Furthermore low frequencies are felt by the body as much as heard by the ears.  Most modern amps that are designed for surround sound will have a dedicated subwoofer output with the correct phasing and crossover otherwise many subwoofer designs offer built-in crossovers.  The most extreme important task when setting up a subwoofer is ensuring the phase of the subwoofer matches the phase of the main speakers.

millercarbon:
"More pure gold. I’ve copied the whole post just to pose a pop quiz and see if anyone can answer: what one single letter best differentiates Duke’s highly informative post from all the rest?

Hint: to understand the answer is to understand the problem."

Hello millercarbon,

     I completely agree with you that audiokinesis keeps delivering audio gold by sharing his vast audio knowledge and experience with his thread posts.  I always learn a lot from his posts. 
     Now, your pop quiz question has me stumped:
     What one single letter best differentiates Duke’s highly informative post from all the rest? 

     I really have no idea but I'll take a stab just for fun.  

     Is it 'G'? 
As in g, I didn't know that.

Tim

Today’s post is brought to you by the letter "S".

The letter "S" has the Super Power of being able to turn singular into plural. But not always! Due to a design flaw it can only do this when used at the end of a word. Luddite Forces in the Audioverse exploit this weakness. In a typical mind-trick they say, "This is the subwoofer you are looking for." See what they did there? The original quote was, "These are not the DroidS you’re looking for." They dropped the "S"! Pulling you back, always back, to the singular.

It’s a trap!

Don’t go over to the Dark Side. Unleash the power of the letter "S". Use four subs.

Subwoofers will not add clarity to a system. They will add impact in the form of notes you can feel as well as sound stage volume.

I’m not sure of the logic behind this statement, but it is at least subtly wrong. In a small two-way system, the woofer covers both (sorta) bass and mid-range. The large excisions of the bass modulate the mid-range, since the mid-range is superimposed on a vary-ing, larger, bass excursion. This HAS to muddy and distort the mid-range. And in my listening, it does (or did, its been a while)

Beyond that, yes, it will add weight, impact and richen the timbre.
Now, all this depend son proper setup, and you need to remember that the subwoofer must be phase aligned with BOTH speakers, and that phase alignment is perfect only for one listening position. Do the math. Its worth spending some time to get the position right, and if the crossover may be varied, to find out which one integrates best with your main speakers.

I really like sub-woofer / satellite systems if all the above are observed.
Some of my fav’s from the way-back machine were Spica TC-50is and Sequerra Met-7s with a decent woofer such as an Audio Pro (about $1000, 30 years ago).
G