Why the obsession with the lowest octave

Mine goes to eleven!

I'd agree that quality of bass, and control as well as balance, is all very important. Just because a speaker can reproduce down to XXhz does not mean that it does a convincing job in portraying those lower frequencies and the instruments that produced them. I think this is one of those things that reveal the limitations of graphs/numbers/measurements in telling the whole story. Here's where having two ears comes in mighty handy, and gives you a better idea of what the speaker in question is capable of. As far as why such a stress is put on it, one need only take a listen to a system that really gets that right can bring to the table, in order to understand why it is so coveted in spite of the fact that the majority of what we listen to exists on the middle rather than the extremes. It brings in one of our others senses big time (touch/feeling) and connects with us in an almost primordial way. I think it is also VERY difficult for a speaker/system/room to do well, so when that is done well, it's pretty amazing to experience.

I never thought low bass was a "male" thing...new concept to hear someone say that.

One need only attend a single show, look around at a dealer, or pay attention to who is posting here in these and other audiophile forums, to know that this is by far and away a "male" hobby. The percentage of women who care about this stuff is extremely small in my estimation and in my direct experience for over 35 years. Present company (at least one of us) being part of the minority.

My own experience of well-reproduced bass is that it brings with it a fuller appreciation of what is on the recording, the space it was recorded in, the instruments themselves (assuming they do reach those lower octaves). In that sense music becomes more engaging. It is like adding a fuller palette of hues to a visual reproduction of a painting: with more limited hues, say a coarse screen magazine reproduction in People magazine, the image of a painting with tremendous range and contrast would do adequately in conveying what the painting generally looks like. Reproduce the same painting with state of the art stochastic printing and at 600dpi resolution and you will have a far greater understanding of the what is actually there, and arguably a greater potential to enjoy what the artist put on the canvas.

As far as the high end of the spectrum, which is certainly important as well; I wonder how many people hear anything at all above 17khz. I doubt many of those posting here do.

As far as the lowest octave, Cmon general question for all of you.

How many of you actually got into this in the beginning the very begining. You didnt hear airy and transparent highs and glorious midrange that got you in when you were a kid. It was the bass right. Playing your music LOUD rocking out.

Who can say they honestly didnt go wow, a speaker can do that, no freakin way!!!

I can honestly say that what I believe you are describing here did not impress me as a kid, and I was not interested in speakers that had copious distorted bass, vs those that offered some sense of clarity, honesty and what I now would call musicality (though back then I would have said they just sound more 'real'). The first time I recall being really wowed by a speaker was a pair of Quad 57's which were hardly capable of the bass we're talking about here. So I guess I'm a freak.