Do you think you need a subwoofer?

I'm happy with my Genelec 8351Bs that reproduce accurately down to 32 Hz with no subwoofer. Most of what I listen to, i.e. recordings of acoustical instruments and ancient 78 RPM records, isn't recorded below that, anyway, so I don't care. It would be nice to have one, but the amount of expense and trouble I'd have to go to to get something appropriate would be far disproportionate to the amount of enjoyment I'd get out of hearing the handful of recordings I listen to with crazy-low notes. I have better things to worry about.

Good points, I may think about getting a pair of Genelec 7360s in the distant future. Not something I really need but might be fun to have. I mostly work on ancient acoustical and early electrical recordings from the 1910s through 1933 or so, and the bass response on those cuts off around 100 Hz on the acousticals and maybe 50 Hz on the really well-recorded electricals. Even 100-year-old records are often surprisingly high-fidelity if restored properly. I have a few Fats Waller organ records which are very well-recorded for the 1920s with big luscious room tone, but they don’t test the monitors’ capabilities in the least. I do listen to modern music on streaming on rare occasion and remember just how great my equipment is! I’m almost always in my office in the near field restoring old records. If I have a listening party I can use a different GLM setup and tilt the monitors a bit to move the sweet spot back. Subs would be overkill for my needs, but I guess I’ll keep them in the back of my mind. It may be a while--there’s always a more pressing need like getting more custom stylii made or a rare record. Down the road, I could see squeezing them into the budget.

Genelec recommends 7370A subwoofers (around $4k each) for the 8351B but also has said in the past that 7360As (around $2.5k each) are fine if your room is on the smaller side and you listen at lower-to-moderate SPLs, which would fit my situation. Most people who implement subs with 8351Bs seem to leave the crossover frequency in the neighborhood of the default 85Hz. Still a bit on the fence--most of my music is pretty light on the sub-bass and that's a hefty investment for something I'll only get big benefits from on infrequent occasion. The 8351Bs are pretty strong at reproducing the bass on 98% of what I listen to.

Most collectors playing 78s are not going to hear the full potential of the records because their equipment is the equivalent of playing an LP on a Crosley. Bad stylus fit, bad EQ, suboptimal processing capabilities, or simply not playing an archival-quality copy. 78s will never sound like an LP-era recording, but you can make them sound like the best reissue CDs out there or better with the right equpment.

My 8351Bs are on stands on my large standing desk--sort of by necessity. They measure well in GLM software, and my room is treated with GIK panels. I mostly remaster on Sennheiser 800S headphones because I have a young child who’s usually sleeping when I have my ’free time’. I admit I haven’t put much thought into the concept of crossover frequency. The tuba and string bass on old jazz records sounds nice and tight, but I listen mostly to 78s probably limits my scope of reference when I listen to anything more modern. I’ll be researching subs and will probably pick up a pair when the time is right.

After doing some research the past couple nights I'm strongly considering adding a pair of Genelec 7360s to complement my 8351Bs. I know Genelec recommends the 7370s, but I think the 109 dB SPL of the 7360s is more than enough for my needs (even 80 is pushing it for me and 90 is usually borderline painful--not sure how some of you do it!), and my room is on the smaller side. The 7370s wouldn't really even fit without some creative rearranging.

I'm not sure I fully understand the measurement side of things and whether it would be an upgrade in more than just the sub-bass with these particular monitors. I do have a couple bigger nulls in my GLM at 72 and 108Hz that the subs probably will help address.

Listened to some stuff with deeper bass the past couple days to refresh my memory, and I'd call my current setup nice and tight and reasonably full range but a little light on the deep tones you can really feel--no surprise there. Even looking at those Fats Waller organ records recorded in a church studio in Camden, NJ by Victor Records in1927, they have crisp, well-defined bass as low as 31Hz! Incredible! I think my monitors technically are capturing it, but I could see how a sub would be a more effective solution to reproduce this type of record, or any record, accurately. Would like to understand the numbers a bit better.

Got the Genelec 7360As integrated into my system just now. With GLM adjustments they're pretty good for my needs, especially mono stuff where the minor deficiencies in one channel offset the other. I'm sure I could improve it a bit if I adjusted placement a bit, but great for now. Bass presence is massively improved across the board, even with stuff with 'average' bass, e.g. bowed string bass. Glad I stumbled into this thread and thought it over! These things are incredible.