can i get away with not having a sub if i have really good mains? (1 Viewer)

[Mike Matthews]

not sure if this is a "basics" question or a "speaker" question...god forbid i post in the wrong forum, but here goes

i'm thinking about looking into this system:

Polk RTi70s
Polk RTi28s
Polk CSi30

do i need a sub with those mains? if so, should i go with the PSW 303, 450, or 404? music will be the primary function of this system, but i do enjoy watching movies

 

[Glenn Overholt]

Hi! The newbies can post anywhere, well almost all of the time.

You will probably get some conflicting information on this, but this is my opinion.

If you are sending your CD out via L/R cables, the sub won't even work for music. If you use a digital connection and plug it into a digital in, then the sub would work, if you had one.

But you don't have to get one. I am sure that a good pair of towers will give you enough base to keep you happy. You have to realize that most speaker systems for DVD consist of 1 sub and 5 speakers that are all pretty small, so some sort of a bass would be necessary.

Glenn

 

[David Preston]

Personally I couldn't watch movies without having a sub. Music on the other hand sounds great without one. I would recommend getting one unless you don't have room. You won't regret it. They make a big difference when watching movies.

 

[hitendra]

I tend to agree with Glenn

Normally in a 5.1 system, the 5 speakers cannot typically handle frequencies below 100 Hz and thats really where you get most of the "fun" stuff in movies - the explosions, the special sound FX etc. So, you do need a good sub.

If you are looking at towers, then they should be good enough to handle the low frequencies.

 

[Ryan*Pr*]

If you are sending your CD out via L/R cables, the sub won't even work for music. If you use a digital connection and plug it into a digital in, then the sub would work, if you had one.

The sub will still work for music. My dad has a setup with some small cube JBL speakers and a sub with no digital connection. That bass is sure not coming out of the cubes.

Do you NEED the sub? No, you could get away without it with those mains.

 

[Cees Alons]

Mike,

You can always add the sub later. And most probably you will.

Cees

 

[John Garcia]

RTi70s would not qualify as "really" good mains in my book, and they will definitely NOT cover to 20Hz, so IMO, they will not be good enough for movies. For music, the 70s will probably be fine.

If you are sending your CD out via L/R cables, the sub won't even work for music. If you use a digital connection and plug it into a digital in, then the sub would work, if you had one.

Ryan*Pr* is correct, bass management is the same whether the connection is stereo analog or digital. Bass management is typically bypassed when using multi-channel analog inputs, but some receivers are now able to manage them as well.

 

[Lew Crippen]

If you are sending your CD out via L/R cables, the sub won't even work for music. If you use a digital connection and plug it into a digital in, then the sub would work, if you had one.

To add to this comment, some subs have a R/L input and a R/L output. This allows you to run from your amplifier or receiver R/L outputs to the sub. A crossover in the sub grabs the lower frequencies and passes the rest along to the R/L front speakers.

 

[Cees Alons]

A crossover in the sub grabs the lower frequencies and passes the rest along to the R/L front speakers.

The better ones do even more: they compensate for irregular low-frequency deficiencies in your mains.

Cees

 

[sam_canavo]

Mike

I have a set of psb alphas and paradigm 3se minis and
have used both as front speakers, but when I added AR 10 inch sub let me tell you it made a HUGE difference. Not
only for movies but music as well.

Small bookshelfs just don't have the bass or the bottom end.

 

[John Warner]

Go buy the Infinity Primus 8" for around 200$ and a good subwoofer cable. I listen to that setup quite often at work.... And without going too overboard in price the Infinity will match up nicely, Polk Subwoofers typically arent that great and their excursion gets kinda bad after having it for a good ammount of time.

 

[Alan Wong]

I find that a sub makes watching movies much more enjoyable but don't like using one for music.

 

[Cees Alons]

If you calibrate a sub very carefully, it can be extremely rewarding for music too, especially for (low) organ music.

Cees

 

[Ben LG]

A sub is a must for movies, you just wont have the same type of impact without a good sub. If space is your concern, try a search on ebay for Infinity Il60, they have a built in sub. Ive seen them going for about $400-$500, refurbished straight from harmanaudio.

 

[Pam W]

We built our speaker system bit by bit. We began with the towers, then added the center. Soon after, we purchased the sub, and finally the rears. It worked well for us and our budget - we didn't sacrifice bacause we hadn't heard what we were missing yet! Now that it is complete, whooeee!

Pam