The room.
My friend has a pair of custom speakers, each a pair of 6" woofers. Upstairs, very large room, high ceilings, no side walls, carpeted floor, the imaging was terrific, but a bit bass shy.
He moved his system to a smaller room, lower ceiling, closer walls, and the bass is definitely stronger, the imaging not as great as the big room.
Before, large room, he was thinking of adding a single subwoofer, now not feeling the need. If only 1 sub, I think it would add mud. A pair of small directional subs, say 10", self powered, adjustable crossover and individual volume, could extend the bass keeping it directional.
Bring music with strong clear bass you are familiar with. Listen, hmmm, sounds right. You cannot tell how showroom demos will sound in your room, if possible get the dealer to loan you his demos, (already broken in) even for a short time, or allow return of new pair. You will know ’essentially’ how much bass reinforcement your room will give right away (if new, perhaps break-in period needed).
Imaging. Small 6" allows a narrow front width, allows better imaging. Adding a pair of small self powered subs takes the bass load away from both the speakers and the amp, thus the smaller mains can do a better job.
My friend has a pair of custom speakers, each a pair of 6" woofers. Upstairs, very large room, high ceilings, no side walls, carpeted floor, the imaging was terrific, but a bit bass shy.
He moved his system to a smaller room, lower ceiling, closer walls, and the bass is definitely stronger, the imaging not as great as the big room.
Before, large room, he was thinking of adding a single subwoofer, now not feeling the need. If only 1 sub, I think it would add mud. A pair of small directional subs, say 10", self powered, adjustable crossover and individual volume, could extend the bass keeping it directional.
Bring music with strong clear bass you are familiar with. Listen, hmmm, sounds right. You cannot tell how showroom demos will sound in your room, if possible get the dealer to loan you his demos, (already broken in) even for a short time, or allow return of new pair. You will know ’essentially’ how much bass reinforcement your room will give right away (if new, perhaps break-in period needed).
Imaging. Small 6" allows a narrow front width, allows better imaging. Adding a pair of small self powered subs takes the bass load away from both the speakers and the amp, thus the smaller mains can do a better job.