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are subwoofers anti-audiophile?

I have been into this hobby 25 years now and have noticed not a lot of us use Subwoofers in our systems.

I have 2 systems, one which is a Celestion SL700 with their Celestion System 6000 subwoofer pair with a outboard crossover-----my other system has changed quite a bit, but with always large floorstanding speakers. I have also always had adequate power to the speakers.

My floorstanding system cannot match the realism i get from my Celestion/subwoofer system. In my floorstanding system, it is almost like the bassist is backstage playing, while the rest of the band is front stange and center. This leads me to my question. Why don't most of us use subwoofers? I am a member of an audiophile club and we do system hops and no one has a subwoofer in their 2 channel systems.
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jimmdavis
63 posts
 
I think it's because (1) most really good music-oriented speakers are designed to run without subs, and (2) most subs are designed to make the floor shake when watching movies with overdone explosions, or to one-note "music".

Good-sounding music-oriented subs (Rel, Vandersteen, et al.) exist, but they're the exceptions.
bigbucks5
184 posts
 
I'm with you. Even large floor standers benefit from the addition of well integrated subs. I've done many tests with and w/o and every time I go back to using the subs. They flesh out the trailing edge of the lower notes; something the smaller drivers in floor standers don't seem able to do.

But you can't over so it, and you need musical subs, not just the room shakers. My subs are from the same company as my floor standers; they are designed for music and blend exceptionally well.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Subs can be difficult to integrate with satelite speakers. More difficult than most people know, even those who love subs. I usually find that a speaker designer is best at designing a woofer to integrate seemlessly with the other drivers in one speaker.
I've heard quite a few systems with subs, and many make their owners happy, which is really all that matters. I wouldn't say that I care for the sound they are listening to, a bit boomy for my tastes, but to each their own. IMHO, a perfect sub would be one that no one can hear. Most sub owners set the level so high that you KNOW there is a sub in the system. Bass is nice, but not if it drowns out the midrange.

Cheers,
John
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