35Hz - 25kHz -- A Partial 'Purist'?


It's amazing how much musical information can be found in the lowest bass regions say 30Hz down to below 20Hz, whether classical, folk, instrumental, pop, etc..

Yet, I'm purplexed to see some to many audiophile 'purists' refuse to even attempt to resolve the obvious deficiency in their systems which simply cannot reproduce any musical information in the lowest regions of the frequecy spectrum.

No matter how musical, how refined, and/or how infinite the configurations a good musical subwoofer can offer, the 'purist' simply will not consider adding a subwoofer to supplement their mains. There's too many good subs (you only need one) ranging from $1k to $30k that can be quite quite musical and allow for near-infinite configurations to adapt to most any system and listening preference. And, yes, I am aware there are many more bad subwoofers, but's that's another thread.

As a self-proclaimed 'fundamentalist', my quest is to ensure my 2-channel system is such that any musical information coming from the source stands an excellent chance of being faithfully reproduced for my listening pleasure.

And by adding a musical 18 inch subwoofer, I don't believe I've given up anything.

I would enjoy hearing what others think.
stehno
Is it not entirely possible that some of you never had a good quality sub to work or with and/or you simply were not able to configure it properly with your mains and/or room acoustics?

If we assume that a few of the deficiencies you mention do exist and hypothetically, there's no way to correct them even if you had the very best sub, the very best room acoustics, and the very best system. Wouldn't the minor deficiency or two be worth overlooking rather than throwing the baby out with the bath water?

And that was kinda' my point of this thread.

Because the cannon shots in the 1812 Overture are not reproduced exactly as you anticipated (which itself is subjective) or there was a little hump, you therefore censor the cannon shots altogether?

To me, this simply defies logic. You'll treat your room for deficiencies with the mains. You'll upgrade your amp to solidify and pronounce the bottom regions, you'll bi-wire, etc.. In other words, you'll (IMO) apply band-aids to every other aspect but simply will not entertain the one possible cure that could resolve most concerns in this region.

It kinda' puzzles me I guess.
I'm with you Stehno. If you enjoy music in which low bass content reproduced in proper scale and dynamic balance with the rest of the music's content is important, I think it is better to have the bass and put up with a some discontinuity than to forsake the bass altogether. However, I would not (and do not) compromise the output quality of my main speakers by using the crossovers in powered subwoofers. Adding more bass "underneath" my main speakers' output is the path I have taken (using RELs), and I am much the happier for it. Yeah, I can hear the subwoofers, now and then, but for me the good far outweighs the bad.
the sub i'm looking for HAS TO offer a seemless intergrated sound...if i "hear " the sub while listening to the music i don't want it in my system...i'll do without...howevere the brand new sub line from FOCAL the 11WX 13WX 15WX seems to be the one up to the job..i'll use my out on my JADIS to drive a sub amp, any suggestions on superior sub amps? as well should i go single 13 , 15 or dual 11's?
Tweekerman, If you've got to do it, then use a sub that has a driver with a very low Fs(resonant frequency). Usually the larger size drivers. Large phase shifts appear around the Fs, and can extend into the listening range. Fs should be about 15Hz or lower if possible. Then, actively cross out the sub as low as possible to avoid contamination of the lower mids/upper bass. If you have a closed box main speaker,the lows will roll off at about 12db/octave below the Fs of your woofer. If you have a vented enclosure, the lows will roll off rather steeply at 24db/octave. Allow the mains to roll of naturally with no cross out. Set your sub crossover point to 1 octave below the mains Fs and use a 12db slope on the sub crossover if you have sealed box mains. If you have vented mains, set the crossover point at 1/2 octave below the Fs of the PORT, and use a 24db/octave slope on the sub crossover. By matching the rolloff points at these points, the slopes will intersect halfway beween, and the additive effects of the two rolloffs intersecting will give a theoretically smooth transition. This is just a starting point and may require adjustment if you hear a hole or a peak. If you don't know the Fs, then use the 3db down point of your mains' response curve as a guide.