Should I bother to try a subwoofer?

Very few speakers can do what a sub does. I have Ascendo ZF3s, which go quite deep, and powerfully. I still use Entec LF20 subs, crossed over very low (I think 30Hz). Very often, they are silent, but when called on by the music (organ or electronic, mostly), their contribution to musical enjoyment is significant. It seems like there is often little corelation between speakers' specified cutoff frequency and what I actually hear from the speaker. It is a rare speaker that doesn't benefit from a subwoofer.

Well, I disagree with the above posts all of which think a sub is the answer.
First, if you are happy with the sound, A sub is going to add a lot of low frequency noise which you may, or may not enjoy.
I find sub is not a worthwhile addition, due to modern Rock recordings.
I had a small used sub I bought from a local dealer to use with my small speakers, and discovered while it was wonderful with chamber music, and small Jazz groups, when it was left at the same level, it was way to much with any modern Rock music, which has a LOT of bass.
So between turning it on, off, up down, i finally just got tired of it.
Now i use some bigger speakers again. which are not noted for a lot of bass,(Magnepan 3.6) but what they have is all i want!
So here is a dissenting opinion about a sub.
If you find one used, and try it then do not like it, at least you would not lose a lot of money over it.

Rfogel18 ... Many things seem dumb to the uneducated . Transducers that extend to 19Hz , ( in room) hardly need bass reinforcement . Iv'e tried at least a dozen subs in the last 38 years and usually end up leaving them turned off for music . Regards Tim

There are reasons, other than filling in missing frequencies, to use a sub. One of the benefits of using a sub is that it can free the speaker from trying to reproduce frequencies at the bottom of its range. Many times this will have the effect of allowing the speaker to produce more coherent mid-bass frequencies and decrease the distortion at the lower end of the woofer's range. Because of this I would encourage you to experiment with the crossover frequency. Trust your ears and set it where it sounds best. Everyone's room is different. I also agree that you should not turn it up too high. The effects should be subtle (except for movies!).

Dick

Tmsorosk, We are not talking about speakers that extend to 19Hz. We are talking about a minimonitor with a 6.5" woofer that is rated to 40Hz.
I have a question. If you connected a subwoofer to a system with main speaker that have rated output to 19Hz, where would you set the crossover for the subwoofer?