The order of getting more/better bass


Say you have a nice 2-way speaker system. Maybe you are starting in your hobby, and maybe you have decided the bottom octaves are a place to improve.  What next? Here's my perspective as a long term audiophile and DIY speaker builder and tinkerer who has lived with and tried a number of solutions.

To be clear: 2 way speakers are generally lot easier to live with than conventional 3-way speakers.  Why? The lack of bass makes them more room friendly and unlikely to cause issues.

So, what should you do? In general, I suggest before moving onto bigger speakers to go through this list:

1 - Get good room treatment, especially bass traps. This doesn't always work, but I have found that often flattening the bass makes smaller speakers sound a lot larger. You may be done here.

2 - Add a subwoofer with great EQ.

And here is where your options kind of explode. The EQ can be before the DAC (miniDSP), built into your pre/integrated (Anthem/Lyngdorf/T+A/etc.) or subwoofer only.  Sometimes this is even part of the speaker with Vandersteen and others offering powered subs with built in EQ as part of the speaker.

To me, the difference here is how much control you want over your DAC and the purity of the signal. A sub only EQ is limited in how much it can fix as well as how much it can break.

I want to point out that not all room correction/auto EQ is the same. It is critically important you audition before purchasing, as ultimately the choices made, and target curves, are not at all equivalent.

3 - Add a second (or more) subwoofer

This is of course great if you lack output, but to actually fix issues you have to have a great deal of flexibility in how you place the subs. If your sub is loud and deep, but you have no control over where they go they will not help you compensate for each other. 
Properly set up/calibrated a satellite/subwoofer set up is glorious. In 90% of living rooms I'd put a good 2way/sub combo up against almost any large floor stander and beat them. However, honestly, the proper set up part is a lot harder than it sounds.

What are your tips for the starter audiophile who wants to improve the bottom end?

Best,

Erik
erik_squires
BTW, I don’t hate GE speakers. Just the screeching incoherent mess that comes out of the mid and treble ranges.
 
I amazes me how some people can possess such ability to insult other people.
+1 Andy

Tough crowd E. I dig your effort though.
@mijostyn --

Mr Hartley is certainly correct in saying the best bass is expensive.

As Mr. Harley put it:


Third, accurate bass reproduction is expensive. The lower the frequency accurately reproduced, the more expensive bass becomes. Note the word “accurate” in both sentences; you can buy a $500 loudspeaker that has output below 40Hz, but it’s unlikely that the bass it produces will be accurate. Realistic reproduction of the bottom octave (16Hz–32Hz) requires large woofers, which in turn requires a large cabinet. The larger the cabinet the more prone it is to vibration that will color the sound. Enclosure vibration colors the music tonally and destroys music’s dynamic structure. The solution is to build heroic enclosures that don’t vibrate, but such enclosures are extremely dense, heavy, and expensive.


I can attest to this part, "Realistic reproduction of the bottom octave (16Hz–32Hz) requires large woofers, which in turn requires a large cabinet.," but the concern about enclosure vibrations and their amelioration is, if not unfounded, then blown out of proportion - certainly in regard to expense. It’s the typical hifi-adage of "you get what you pay for," and while bigger drivers and cabinets are more expensive than smaller ones, all things being equal, the final cost of refrigerator-sized (or bigger) bass cabs needn’t be excessive - at least not relative to the amount of money being spent in the high-end arena on cables and other accessories alone.

The first and foremost challenge in achieving great bass reproduction (other than implementation) is the need for sheer size (and/or number of subs), but many an audiophile would rather shell out ungodly amounts of dough than have size have its unapologetic way, and this is the real crux of the matter; cultivation in the extreme, within a physically limited speaker framework, rather than, conversely, going by form-follows-function. How about an Infinite Baffle bass setup with 4x18" drivers per side (that is, two of them) taking up floor to ceiling, or a pair of large horn subs with everything ranging from 15" to 21" drivers? If one wanted to buy these or similarly pre-build from, say, Wilson Audio, Magico, Cessaro or Living Voice they’d cost a downright fortune with their expensive veneering, lacquers and overall material wealth. But, who needs that other than the über-wealthy wanting to flaunt their investment? Go DIY, and that entails having others build the cabinets, and it’ll cost a fraction while, dare I say, delivering equally where sonics goes.

It’s about dedication, common sense and letting size/physics have its way. That’s not a recipe for potential bankruptcy, but rather using money where it really and mostly matters to achieve the desired sonic goal.

Erik,

This discussion is pointless since I gave you my answer and right away you dissed the speakers and room acoustics. I invite you to my home to listen to my system with your music and you be the judge. Send me a PM for the address and we can discuss time and date.  Bring an empty stomach so you can eat the full plate of crow after listening. 
My speakers are not large speakers with built in sub.  That statement means you do not really understand the G E concept. It is a FULL RANGE speaker with powered woofers. If you are going to diss the speakers, at least get the concept right.  My room furnishings give me all the room treatment I would ever need.  
Are you going to take me up on my invitation?