is a subwoofer for music a good idea??

1) Yes
2) No
3) Yes
4) No, on the contrary

I did not believe that a sub could improve the overall sound untill I got one, a REL Strata III. All recordings tend to benefit from the addition of a sub, classical and Jazz music actually benefits a lot more compared to Rock and Pop. One of the advantages of a sub is that it will give you the low end resolution at almost half the volume you are used to listening at.

I will not say that REL is the best (have not heard everyone out there) but it certainly should be on the top of your list when you consider a sub.

The biggest problem with subs is that you will never know how good or bad it sounds until you have it in YOUR system and YOUR own room. For smaller rooms, it is generally a good idea to go for a sealed one rather than ported one, to avoid boominess. I have heard similar subs in different systems and they all sound different in different rooms and different systems.

For music the sub needs to be fine-tuned to match seamlessly with the main speakers. In order to avoid the midbass hump the sub needs to be well under the main speakers low frequency roll off and not overlap it.

Just because one has paid for a subwoofer, does not mean it should be in the limelight! Basically, the sub should tell you I AM NOT THERE, it should disappear. SUBTLE is the keyword here!

Depending on your room size, your preference, taste in music, volumes to be achieved, it will take a while before the sub is seamlessly integrated into your system. Many folks expect the sub to start performing at its best the moment it is hooked up to the system and get frustrated, PATIENCE is again a keyword here.

thanks for the great response ,folks!i'm new to this forum buisness,but of all the forums i've visited ,this is the most active.way to go!please keep the opinions coming to help me decide.for those who may be interested , my system is :
cadence arita bookshelves(i would be surprised if anyone in this forum has heard OF them,leave alone heard them! but they are really high quality stuff!)
rotel 971 mk2 integ.amp
rotel 951 cd player
kimber 4PR cables(the cheapest good quality i could find)

additionally,there is a offer on the REL quake,REL Q150E and DEF tech prosub 100TL.any of these any good for music?
all opinions highly appreciated,guys!

If you can get a good deal on the Q150E it might be worth going for. However I still insist on a home audition. Can you manage that even with the special deal?

On the other hand check out the reviews of the Q series subs by going to the REL website at www.rel.net and see if you can relate to it. Essentially the Q series are all same albeit power differences. Quake is not a good idea though. Too small and for computer application as its main forte.

Quadophile-

Have you hear the Quake sub? In a small room it is very effective. I don't know how many folks are buying $750 Rel's for computer systems, although, I am sure there ae a few. If you have a very small room the Quake is the best I have heard. This does make it somewhat limited in most applications.

Jla,

You admit about its limited application yourself, that is the only reason I was not in favour. If in future the system is shifted to a slightly bigger room or if the system is upgraded the Quake will be inadequate for music applications. Quake will depreciate in value much more compared to Q150E. There will be buyers for the bigger Q series but fewer for Quake. Is it not a consideration?

To answer your first question, no.