Will a subwoofer add depth and clarity to my system, or just bass?


hi folks,
I just purchased a set of Focal Aria 906 speakers with stand, powered by a Bluestream PowerNode (not my ideal system but I had a limited budget).  I think it sounds really good, but am wondering if an upgrade to a subwoofer is worth it, and if so, what would pair well with this system -- my audio guy recommended the JL Audio D110 10" Dominion Subwoofer, but that's out of my price range.  Perhaps a SVSPB1000, for $499?  My room isn't very big, and I don't use the system for movies, just listening to mostly jazz and rock (and classical).
Thank you!
jazz99

Showing 3 responses by ieales

+1 on ML 800x for configurability
600x is $600, ported and might integrate better with ported mains

A sub MUST have 0 to 180 phase control, phase invert, 3 and 4th order slopes in addition to level and frequency.

The ML x series do and have the advantage of being adjustable from a smart phone. With the ARC microphone and Anthem Room Correction software, room faults can be somewhat mitigated.

IMO, you should roll the low end out of your mains. This effectively increases main amplifier power and makes integration with the sub easier.  Do NOT use the sub the sub internal XO. Depending on the room and sub, you may choose different frequencies. A single polypropylene, Teflon or polystyrene cap can suffice for a start. See http://www.ielogical.com/Audio/SubTerrBlues.php/

Learning to use something like REW [Room Eq Wizard http://www.roomeqwizard.com/] will pay huge dividends

Adequate low end room control is big, expensive and ugly. Judicious furniture placement and main/sub location can get you most of the way there. Just don't listen in a sparely furnished room with bare walls and floors.

I disagree that one can't hear phase in the bass. Having spent 1000s of hours in studios with time aligned monitors, getting the low end phase as good as it can be is essential. When it's not correct, kicks and snares are flabby, upright bass strolls and live orchestras have no focus.

A good sub properly integrated improves the listening experience out of all proportion to the frequency band.
One must remember that a filter alters both the phase and magnitude of the signal. This is represented by a phasor vector. See https://www.electronics-tutorials.ws/accircuits/phasors.html

Adjusting the phase control does not adjust level, only phase. When correct, there is minimum deviation in the vector sum, even though the level sum is relatively unchanged

See http://www.ielogical.com/Audio/SubTerrBlues.php/#Phasors for illustrations of how vector sum affects sub response.

If your sub does not have phase control, phase invert and variable slope, you have to be very lucky to achieve optimal integration.

In the immortal words of an LA musician, composer and all around genius:
¿¡¿¡¿¡¿¡¿ Those little speakers aren’t putting out all that gorgeous bass ?!?!?!?!?
<- No, there’s a Force subwoofer at the end of the sofa. ->
Every other subwoofer I’ve ever heard just boomed!!