How do I know if I need a sub woofer?

lol

How do you know when you need a subwoofer?

After due diligence, including without limitation:

• Optimizing speaker placement for bass response to avoid reinforcement and cancellation effects and achieving as flat frequency response as possible. 
• Tanking room frequency measurements if possible to assist in room treatment.  
• Placing diffusers, absorbers, and bass traps and validating improvements by taking measurements again. 
• Using speaker decoupling devices (stands, platforms, footers). 
• Developing an understanding of how acoustic bass sounds (organ, percussion, string, and wind instruments) in both large and small venues.   Focus not only on bass detail, but on timbre, micro and macro dynamics, and how staging and imaging develops.  
• Identifying reference recordings to test your system.  

After due diligence, if you are left wanting for more low bass detail, more accurate timbre, more dynamic impact, better reproduction of bass micro dynamics, or more precise imaging and staging, you need a subwoofer.  If you believe you system sounds like live, acoustic bass response as it is, you do not need a subwoofer.  This is strictly subjective and based on your own perception.   There is only one axiom, if your speakers only go to 30-35hz +/- 3db, a subwoofer will open up the sound stage.   All other bass SQ attributes are subjective and you need to determine the benefit /cost ratio yourself   

​​​​​​​

How do you know when you need a subwoofer?

After due diligence, including without limitation:

• Optimizing speaker placement for bass response to avoid reinforcement and cancellation effects and achieving as flat frequency response as possible. 
• Tanking room frequency measurements if possible to assist in room treatment.  
• Placing diffusers, absorbers, and bass traps and validating improvements by taking measurements again. 
• Using speaker decoupling devices (stands, platforms, footers). 
• Developing an understanding of how acoustic bass sounds (organ, percussion, string, and wind instruments) in both large and small venues.   Focus not only on bass detail, but on timbre, micro and macro dynamics, and how staging and imaging develops.  
• Identifying reference recordings to test your system.  

After due diligence, if you are left wanting for more low bass detail, more accurate timbre, more dynamic impact, better reproduction of bass micro dynamics, or more precise imaging and staging, you need a subwoofer.  If you believe you system sounds like live, acoustic bass response as it is, you do not need a subwoofer.  This is strictly subjective and based on your own perception.   There is only one axiom, if your speakers only go to 30-35hz +/- 3db, a subwoofer will open up the sound stage.   All other bass SQ attributes are subjective and you need to determine the benefit /cost ratio yourself   

​​​​​​​

How do you know when you need a subwoofer?

After due diligence, including without limitation:

• Optimizing speaker placement for bass response to avoid reinforcement and cancellation effects and achieving as flat frequency response as possible. 
• Tanking room frequency measurements if possible to assist in room treatment.  
• Placing diffusers, absorbers, and bass traps and validating improvements by taking measurements again. 
• Using speaker decoupling devices (stands, platforms, footers). 
• Developing an understanding of how acoustic bass sounds (organ, percussion, string, and wind instruments) in both large and small venues.   Focus not only on bass detail, but on timbre, micro and macro dynamics, and how staging and imaging develops.  
• Identifying reference recordings to test your system.  

After due diligence, if you are left wanting for more low bass detail, more accurate timbre, more dynamic impact, better reproduction of bass micro dynamics, or more precise imaging and staging, you need a subwoofer.  If you believe you system sounds like live, acoustic bass response as it is, you do not need a subwoofer.  This is strictly subjective and based on your own perception.   There is only one axiom, if your speakers only go to 30-35hz +/- 3db, a subwoofer will open up the sound stage.   All other bass SQ attributes are subjective and you need to determine the benefit /cost ratio yourself   

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@gournard couldn't have said it better myself. Bravo. People think physics can be waved away like a fly lol