subwoofer Bass in Systems


I believe one of the challenges of our hobby, is that we are scarce and therefore have limited exposure other systems. It is at least true for me. I am a member of a local Audiophile club who used to do system hop days and looked forward to those. I do get to drop into a local high end store and know the owner and on a few occasions each year, give a 20 min listen to their ultra high end 100-300k System.

I have met a few people through buying and selling via Craigslist and those past system hop days and have been had several people spend some time listening to my systems.

Most people i've met and heard their systems do not use a subwoofer with full range or monitor speakers.

So, this recent visit a person came by and really seemed over-whelmed by the bass in my system. to keep this short and on the way to my point, my system components are

#1-Celestion SL700 , Revel B12 subwoofer, Plinius SA100 Mk III amp
#2 -Celestion SL600 Celestion System 6000 subwoofers, AirTight ATM-3 monos, powering the SL600s.

I prefer the Celestions, because to me they are boxless sounding and of course they are well known for their imaging and mid-range clarity.

I like that idea and the idea of the subs to provide what the Celestions lack, bass.

My systems are set up with the sub output fairly low, when i hear some smearing of the mid-band, I step off and down off the subwoofer level.

My listening reference is what i would expect to hear in a live setting. I expect to somewhat feel the bass note, or at least know within that instrument there is weight and some heft.

To my point, at least half of the persons who have heard my system have always commented on the bass level, and being a good host I adjusted it down to their preference. This last visit, i kept the bass level at what this visitor had me drop it to and listened for an evening after he left.

At this particular level, it is best described that there was a bass player or bass note within songs, but it was blended in within the same level of the other instruments or voices. To me, it wasn't right, and I feel, personal preference or not, it isn't what would be considered a natural real level.

So, finally to my point of discussion to you all, my only thought is, a lot of us in the hobby put together their systems without the consideration of the lower end sub or bass frequencies, or have smaller monitors not capable of it, or lack sufficient power to run a full range to obtain a level of subass or bass. Maybe it is their living space or neighbor set up where they can't have low bass. I am not saying anyone is wrong, but also see in terms of audiophile marketing , i see the least amount of focus on bass. Bass is a big marketing point in home theater, for which I am not interested in, but again not 2 channel audio.

Again, having heard other persons systems, it is my experience that priorities are elsewhere, which in my opinion, I want the entire spectrum of audio.

Am I in the minority here ?

Your thoughts would be very welcomed

Good Listening
128x128justlisten
Love my old REL Q150e...100% behind the REL concept...signal from the amp, leave the main speakers alone, etc. RELs can be amazing and lead to a better life with more general happiness, cleaner dishes, and sudden unexpected financial wealth.
I'm selling two subs that I liked very much with the monitors I was using for the past 6 months. I'd play none one or two and enjoyed two the most. I finally went back to floorstanders (Wilson Witt II's) and tried each combination, and really don't feel the need for subs anymore. Guess I can spend a little on room treatment.
I had a problem with integrating subs into my system. Bass is a hard thing to get right. I purchased Evolution Acoustics MM2's which have amped woofers integrated in the speaker. That solved all problems. Excellent sound
I'm in the subs plus Audyssey camp. In my case, I use a pair of 12" Rythmik subs with Ohm 100s or Magnepan MMGs. I just let Audyssey do its thing and seamless integration is never an issue. Bass is sufficiently extended that none of my music meaningfully tests the lowest limits of the system (I need cinema material for that). Bass is also notably clean and articulate, leading to a more detailed sounding midband.

I know this approach isn't everyone's cup of tea, but its my preferred solution for full range listening.
In my experience a sub also exposes you to an another area of music playback that can be plagued by poor recording techniques. "Oh! This recording would be so much better if the low frequencies weren't (......)", fill in the blank.

It just limits the number of recordings that go into the "Wow" category. But then, those that do, are a little higher up in "Wow"