Why the obsession with the lowest octave

This word was one of the few contributions to our culture by Warren G. Harding if I remember correctly. At least he was the one that popularized it.

My tweeter goes out to 60,000 Hz [I'll take their word for it] and there is no music out there either. Good subs make a difference even when there is no music supposedly below the range of the main speakers; once you hear it you will miss it when it is gone. I sometimes forget to switch on my subs; I don't notice it right away but gradually realize something is missing. An actual 28 Hz speaker is a rare bird indeed, I don't think the JM 1036 really goes that low if I remember the HIFI + test.

The 1036 is a bigger and more expensive speaker. The 3 db down point on the Electra 1037 BE is 33Hz in its test in HIFI+ issue 52. As it has 3 8" woofers rather than the 2 of the 936 [ according to Audiogon Blue Book] and costs roughly twice as much it is hard to see how the 936 could have better bass. When we say that a speaker has response to a given frequency we mean that it has a flat response to it; my REL subs produce audible output at 15.5 Hz but I don't regard them as going that low. To get a speaker that is only 3 db down at 28 Hz takes either size of money or both. The Wilson Sofia 3 just manages 3.5 db down at 28 Hz and it is an exceptional performer in the bass.

When I had my Nelson-Reed 1204s [4 12" drivers a side] subs set up my favorite demo record was "Ancient Dances of Hungary" on Harmonia Mundi. The weight of the low strings was felt much more even though the 12" woofer in my main speakers went down well below their range.