@ cleeds
It’s true that phase as well as controlling standing and canceling waves is important, as is system integration and is true that good deep bass is considerably more than thump, thump, thump. But, for a fact, frequencies below 60Hz in most home sized rooms are non directional and radiant in nature and of themselves, do not establish specific placements on a stage.
Because instruments that perform in the lower mid bass frequencies between 60Hz and 200Hz (kick drums, bass guitar, string bass, bass viola etc) also produce sub harmonic frequencies falling below 40Hz, a good sub/subs, set up properly, definitely adds a needed degree of texture, timber and fullness to a system.
+1 audiokinesis
Adjusting the controls on the subwoofer amp for best performance is critical; a mis-adjustment can easily make much more of a difference than the variations among competent subwoofer brands. Here is the sequence I generally suggest:
1. Adjust the level of the sub(s) to blend well with the mains;
2. Adjust the lowpass filter frequency of the sub(s) to get a better blend;
3. Adjust the phase to get an even better blend;
4. Go back to step 1 and cycle through these steps a couple more times.
+1 erik_squires
Yep, great subwoofer integration is amazing.
You don’t need a very expensive sub, but you do need great configuration.
Happy listening.....Jim