Is a Sub worth the bother?

Depends... what kind of music do you listen to? Most rock, pop, and jazz won't really benefit if your speakers will reproduce at least 40Hz. If you listen to a lot of classical and/or anything with a lot of piano, then it might. But don't go cheap. A cheap sub will sound horrible. You can pick up something used, but very good, for a few hundred and be happy instead of having a $100 sub sitting in the closet.

i'm unsure what most would consider a "quality" sub, but yes...adding a sub will help your bottom end if you're running short. am currently running a velodyne but have experience with boston acoustic and polk subs. in every instance, the sub improved the overall sound to my ears. i remember adding a no-name $59 sub to my sisters crap stereo 10-15 years ago. it was no where near as crappy afterwards.

a quality sub would obviously be best but a decent one will also help...when compared to none at all. if your mains don't reach low enough or are short on hit/slam, adding a sub is a good way to go imo.

Yes, it's worth all the bothering and sorrows and despondency which you will undergo through during its setup. I have AE Aegis Evo 3 speakers which go down to 40 Hz (-3 dB) and 36 Hz (-6 dB).

I added a second hand REL Quake sub and it absolutely transformed my enjoyment of music and brough it to another level. But integrating it into the system was a pain. I did it eventually, by ear first. The result was ok. But then I learned how to use software Room EQ Wizard and I found even a better place for the sub using a mike and this program. The result became excellent.

I also use the VST Oxford Sonnox EQ in Foobar2000 to smooth the remaining irregularities in the frequency response of the sub and the woofers (20-100 Hz).

shop craigslist, agon, closeouts etc... you can find a great little sub for under $350 easily. this is a huge buyers mrkt, offer them anything you like and imo you will get a killer deal. dont rush into it and fight the flow, lotsa deals exist well under half retail.

Rob_hughes writes:
>Depends... what kind of music do you listen to? Most rock, pop, and jazz won't really benefit if your speakers will reproduce at least 40Hz

I've never heard a 2-way system which didn't benefit immensely from adding a sub-woofer, even with measured in-room response below 40Hz.

With an 80-120Hz cross-over (the later suggesting one or more sub-woofers at the front of the room) you reduce mid-range IM distortion and clean it up.

SBIR effects (where the main speaker is at odd multiples of 1/4 wave length from a wall) are significantly reduced when you move frequencies matching the first null out of the main speaker into a sub-woofer that's acoustically close to the wall in its entire pass-band.

You also get more latitude in positioning; where the main speakers can go where they image best and are as close to the listener as you can get them for the best clarity (no more than it takes to get beyond the near-field and have the drivers integrate properly; probably at about 8') and the sub-woofers go where they need to for the best interaction with the room (notably its resonances).

>If you listen to a lot of classical and/or anything with a lot of piano, then it might. But don't go cheap. A cheap sub will sound horrible. You can pick up something used, but very good, for a few hundred and be happy instead of having a $100 sub sitting in the closet.

Integration is also an issue. You want to be able to high-pass most main speakers.