Odd subwoofer question.

Thanks guys. A couple of thoughts.

To be honest I was hoping something for well under $500. The used market might help.

Not interested in a pair of subwoofers. It is only by my wife's good graces that the speakers are in our living room which is fairly formal. So I might be able to sneak one behind the couch but two would be pushing it.

I could try a used Sonos but was concerned about the SQ. I'm not looking for palpable home theater type stuff. However, if it did not work out for the living room I could stick it in one of the other rooms with Sonos speakers.

@mijostyn said:

If you like tight precise bass you are better off without subwoofers unless you have a lot of money to spend.

I'm guessing this is probably the case and I'm now kind of disinclined to go down this path.

@jjss49 said:

there are some people who don’t get the integration correct, while others unfortunately struggle with a sort of ’reverse placebo effect’ where they mentally can’t get their mind to get out of the way in allowing themselves to hear and accept that well done, subwoofer-supported bass is ’correct’...

You probably just described me perfectly. As is, the 6Ts are pretty good with the right recordings. I'd probably go nuts trying to get things back to sounding the way they do without a sub.

So, thanks guys. All things considered I think I'll leave well enough alone.

I’d strongly encourage you to at least try a sub as the benefits go well beyond adding bass and also greatly enhance imaging, soundstage, and overall sense of space.  The SVS 1000 Pro is only about 13” square and 15” depth, will get you down to an honest 20Hz (-3dB), comes with integration software, and this one available on their Outlet is only $575 with free shipping.  And you get a 45-day trial period so if it doesn’t work out for you (or your wife) you can simply return it with free return shipping.  Just trying to help as I know what a sub can do and think it’s at least worth giving a shot especially when SVS makes it so painless.  They also have great customer support if you ever need help with integration, etc. (probably can’t do much about the wife though).  Ok, that’s all I got and hope you get a chance to at least give a sub a try.  

https://www.svsound.com/products/sb-1000-pro-subwoofer

I will certainly consider it. Thanks.

Has anyone else tried a Vandersteen 2W?

They are around the OPs budget used, however it is uncertain whether the OP’s woofers are in polarity there, or whether they are inverted… in a 3 way the woofer and tweeter are often OK and the MR is inverted…

The invert switches are on a lot of gear, which suggests that they can be needed often.

Sub bass is very difficult. It is not just a matter of what you hear. It is more about what you feel. To get the right idea go to a small Jazz club like the Blue Note in NYC. Try to sit dead center of the band. Reproducing this level of sound quality at home is possible but it requires lots of subwoofer, in my case eight 12" drivers, lots of power, each pair gets 2000 watts and digital bass management (crossovers and room control). You have to remove as much bass as you can from the main speakers which will clean them up and increase their headroom by a substantial margin. I cross over at 100 Hz. 

The subwoofers themselves are another world of problems. Keeping the enclosure from resonating is extremely difficult as bass is very powerful. Put your hand on your subwoofer while playing. Feel the vibration? That is resonance and that is distortion. Ideally you would not feel anything other than a cold surface. Building such a subwoofer is very expensive and not viable commercially with only the Magico brave enough to give it a spin with their Q series. Since most of us are not up for spending $40K on a single subwoofer the DIYer is left to his own devices to make it work.