Why do subs sound bloated or slow?

One reason they sound slow is if you have them placed the same distance as your speakers. Placing the sub as close to the listening position is best. The bass notes take longer than the mids and highs to reach you if they are placed next to your speakers.My rel t2 $800 msrp is placed 2 feet from my chair .Which also makes changing the volume on it very easy when neccesary.Never place it in a corner as you might for home theater. I sugest to anyone to try this location. You will not be dissapointed .

Some people just plain and simple do not like bass no mater what it sounds like . I think many of them chime in their dislike of subs .

Mine are the REL B 2 (pairs) and are far to be bloated and slow ..........

Thanks for the responses so far. In the OP, I wasn't trying to suggest that all subs sound bloated or slow. I was trying to identify some reasons, WHEN subs do sound bloated or slow, WHY that is the case.

Undoubtably, some of those reasons involve the design of the subwoofer itself, as Shadorne indicated. But I have noticed that, even with a well designed sub, seamless integration into a 2 channel system is very challenging. In the OP, I was proposing a theory that explains why sub integration into 2 channel systems so often fails, namely that it tends to result in one of the following scenarios:

1. Good transient response but poor frequency response. Hence "bloated."
2. Good frequency response but poor transient response. Hence "slow."

The reason why the above scenarios are so common, I believe, is because the measures taken to optimize frequency response are often bad for transient response, while the measures taken to optimize transient response are often bad for frequency response.

Has anyone else had this experience during sub setup?

Bryon

If you have good speakers in a 2 channel system a sub is not necessary. Use it for tv.