Monitor W. Subwoofer VS. Floorstander??

i tink this is a *great* way to go. many ridiculously-priced hi-end speakers are in fact monitors & subs, even if the *monitors* are huge, in their own right. and, a truly full-range speaker in one box can present placement problems of its own, that can actually be made easier w/a monitor/sub system. ie - sometimes soundstaging has to be compromised for optimum bass responce, or wicw-wersa.

regarding subs, i'd recommend two, regardless of room-size, or how loud ewe like to listen. yule definitely get better soundtage results, placement/integration w/the monitors will be easier, and, whatever wolume ewe listen at, the distortion will be lower, cuz each sub will be outputting at a lower level for any given db-level as one sub playing at that level. as to which subs, i'm partial to the vmps, as they're passive, which gives ewe the choice of x-over configuration and amplification. and, it will *still* be less $$$ than two powered subs, for anyting even remotely approaching the quality yule get w/the vmps, imo. i recommend the marchand deluxe xm-9 x-over - wery transparent, & wery flexble - ewe should be able to mate the vmps (or any good passive sub, for that matter) w/pretty-much any speaker w/this x-over. for amplification any decent used solid-state power amp will be fine.

i've had long-term success w/a pair of thiel 3.5's (these speakers, flat to 20 hz, still had the total presentation improved w/my subs), and my current speakers, meret re's. if yure unfamiliar w/the re's they use the same drivers, & were designed by the same guy that designed the artemis eos'. short-term use has seen proac tablettes, nht super-ones, and totem arrows all successfully integrated into my system.

doug s.

re: optimum x-over frequency, i've heard it said that it should be an octave higher then the -3db point of the monitor. my monitor's frequency response is to 40hz, so i should theoretically set the x-over to 80hz. but, w/the flexibility of the marchand - besides having separate wolume pots for both low & hi-pass, there's a wolume pot for the x-over point - i get good integration w/the x-over set to 60hz, only 1/2 octave above the monitor's lowest response. as the marchand's x-over slope is a rather steep 24db/octave (also maintains correct phase), i tink this allows a bit lower x-over point. the marchand's x-over points can be changed w/inexpensive plug-in modules, so ewe can experiment. i'd suggest starting low, and working your way up if there's a suck-out at the x-over frequency that can't be adjusted for w/the wolume control for the x-over frequency. i also found it helpful to use an old, cheap adc spectrum analyser/pink noise generator to check the adjustments of the x-over wolume pots. as my subs are much more efficient than the monitors, i *gnu* i'd have to start w/the subs' wolume backed off ~4-db; this turned out to be correct. but, i also discovered that the x-over point wolume pot had to be backed off 2db to get the flattest room response. this leads me to believe that i could prolly get away w/an even lower x-over point of, say 50hz, but as everyting integrates so well now, i'm not planning on messing w/it any time soon.

hope this helps, doug s.

i tried a rel strata - one-note-thump was my experience. my brother-in-law could never get it to integrate well w/his proac 1.5's - ruined the midrange transparency, regardless of which option used on the rel's built-in electronics... he bought it used, let me try it, sold it in a week...

ymmv, doug s.