Should I bother to try a subwoofer?


My speakers are listed as going down to 40 HZ (Dynaudio 1.3 MkII monitors).
There is an REL Strata III available locally that I might snag, try out and re-sell if I don't like/need it. My question is this: since I would not be using this for movies, do I even need this? I mostly listen to classical music, more chamber than symphonic, and occasionally listen to rock, jazz and other pop styles.

Am I likely missing something without that lowest octave? I'm thinking that 99% of the time the sub might not even be in use if it kicks in at 40 Hz.

Any comments, purely theoretical or from experience, will be welcome.
tostadosunidos

Showing 1 response by mapman

Hmm, wish I found this thread earlier.

I have the same Dyns. Yes, they can benefit from a sub with some kinds of music in particular. But the Dyns can sound lovely with bass down below 50 hz or so by themselves, so it is a tough call.

I do not use a sub with them because I have other speakers that do full range quite well.

If I did not, I might consider a sub, but only a larger very good one capable of going down to 20 hz or so with aplomb in order to really add clear value.

I would try to cross over at 50 hertz or above I believe.

I have used my Dyns with an older M&K sub with good results but that was in my second system where the speakers are stored way up high inside a cabinet and bass performance is way down compared to proper setup as a result.