Great sound possible using a Subwoofer?

My experience is similar to Jeff's. I find the better the main speaker is at plumbing the under world , the better, easier and faster it is to integrate a sub. My Apogee Slant 8s go down to a solid 25 HZ in my room and I was quite satisfied. Then I auditioned a used Velodyne FSR-12 that a dealer had for a very good price. Using the internal x-over from the Velodyne for both the high pass and low pass functions, I dialed the critter in in only about 30 minutes of tweaking. What a difference! With the bottom end of the Apogees rolled off below 80 HZ, they could play insanely loud. Got rid of a nasty mid bass peak in the room, and had a more transparent, larger and better defined soundstage too. The bottom end was deeper (actually got that last 5 HZ), tight as a nut and positively thrilling on some stuff. Definately worth the $700 I paid for the sub and it definately complimented the main speaker.

subs *will* help your set-up. note, i said *subs*. getting only one will degrade your sound, you gotta get two. it is definitely easier to cross subs over to speakers that already have decent low-end. a steep-sloped active x-over is also helpful. look to vmps for the best subs for the $$$. you can get a pair of their top model subs, along w/active x-over & amp(s) for less $$$ tha *one* top-line sub from muse, velodyne, rel, etc.

Subs will add but you must have two or the sound will not time align properly. You would be best having the subs placed closer to the rear wall than the other drivers as well. Most drivers get highly directional or beamy near the end of their frequency ranges so by having a sub you can crossover the main speakers about 1-2 octaves higher and open up the sound stage, and of course the sub will not be beamy- provided that the drivers are not too large relative to the drivers on teh main speakers. Ie a 4 inch main speaker midbass driver will not cross over well to a 15 inch or 18inch sub. MOre like a 4 inch driver crosses over well to a pair or 6.5 inch drivers or perhaps and 8. A pair of 6.5 inch main drivers cross over well to 8 inch subs, or a 10... get the picture? Good luck.