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Help with some decisions

post #1 of 4
2/17/09 at 1:03pm
Thread Starter 
Ok, so I am a complete novice in this subject. We bought a house whose former owner had built a system with speakers in the walls, all cables also in the walls, and a large flatscreen. When he left, he took with him his receiver, subwoofer, CD player, and DVD player.
So I called a couple of companies that specialize in home theaters and I have been told I need (obviously) a receiver, a selector switch, and a sub-woofer (since I have the CD and DVD player). My question is this: how imperative is the sub-woofer? I understand its purpose, but can this not bre bought at a later time, without compromising too much the sound quality? Also, are there sub-woofers that are small in size?
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post #2 of 4
2/17/09 at 4:24pm

Re: Help with some decisions

It depends on how accurate your want your sound reproduced. My sub system is the second most expensive part of my home theater behind my projector.

Yes they make small subs but they are a compromise. Hoffman's Iron Law explains it best. So if you want small size and great bass then you will have to pay dearly for it

If you are handy in the DIY area and your house has the right layout you can get great bass from a sub that you can't even see. Infinite baffle subs can produce the best bass available. I'm building one with four 18" custom built drivers.

-Robert
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post #3 of 4
2/17/09 at 4:44pm

Re: Help with some decisions

How imperative the sub is depends on how big the other speakers are, how low frequency they will reproduce. Tiny speakers that only go down to ~100hz absolutely need a sub. With Large speakers having at least say 6+ inch drivers going down to say ~40 hz you can get away without a sub, although you will lose that movie theater-like deep impact of low bass in that last octave. If you want to really feel the explosions not just hear them, you need a sub. There are small subs available but as the link Robert posted explains, you'll lose output and extension.
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post #4 of 4
2/17/09 at 5:41pm

Re: Help with some decisions

I don't have any real experience with in-walls but I would think that there lack of a proper inclosure would limit there low frequency response. If you chose to go without a sub for the time being I would set up the receiver as though you had one and set the crossover @ 100, 80 at the minimum, to prevent the deep bass on many movie dvd's from damaging them.

Another option is to look for a decent used sub on the cheap until you can afford a real one.
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