I suspect that alot of information regarding a venue's acoustic space is very low frequency info that you can't quite hear on an obviouos manner, but is notable by its absence. If I had to use a subwoofer, I would only do so with close to full-range, or full-range speakers over a very narrow span with a very x-ver in the 30-40hz range. The less you ask of a sub the better it will interate and add without subtraction.
does a subwoofer kill stereo sound?
I was wondering whether adding a subwoofer to a pure stereo system would cause any harm to the soundstage and other features of the system. What are your experiences? Should one buy a subwoofer to complement a great bookshelf pair (that may be lacking some bass) or necessarily one would have to buy a new par of speakers with deeper bass?