Vinyl and subwoofers


I have a pair of Thiel 3.6 and a Thiel ss1 sub with the prescribed Thiel crossover. I have a pretty good vinyl rig with a Clearaudio performance se, Stradivari cartridge and a ARC PH8 phonostage. Although the Thiels go down to 20hz, an audiogon member  persuaded me that I was missing something without a subwoofer. What I have heard with the Thiel SS1 sub and prescribed crossover is an amplification of record imperfections I was not aware of without the sub. As well, the overall sound seems often muddied. Has anyone else had this problem with vinyl? Is this a problem with my setup? Any insights are very appreciated.
golferboy

Showing 1 response by normansizemore

gloferboy,

My speakers go down the 30hz flat. Yours go a wee bit further.  Did you really need a sub?  If you install the sub and your bass is suddenly exaggerated then you probably didn't need it in the first place. You will have to room tune the wave lengths or E.Q. them to correct the issue..
I personally have found that when one adds a sub to a system that already covers the last octave of usable program material that making it work seemlessly is more headache then it's worthq.  If you do get it properly tuned you've pretty much ended up with what you already had in the first place.
Subs are effective when used with speakers that don't reach further then 50hz or so.  Keep in mind, there is very little usable program material below 40hz anyway.
The Theils are first rate, and in my opinion certainly don't need a sub.  They are powerful below 30hz when the program material calls for it and that is exactly what you want from a speaker.  
Norman