Sub or no Sub? (1 Viewer)

[Brad O]

Right now I have an HT system with 4 low-end bookshelf speakers and a center, along with a 50W sub. I am upgrading to a floorstanding Axiom M60 speaker that has a tweeter, midrange and two 6.5" woofers per speaker. My room is 11' x 12' with a 10' vaulted ceiling. My question is, should I remove the 50W subwoofer from the system and let the M60 handle all low frequencies? I have also considered using the sub for movies only and shutting it off when listening to music.

What are some thoughts on this?

Thanks.

-Brad

 

[John_Bilbrey]

As long as the sub isn't bottoming, keep it!

 

[Chris PC]

Test it out. Listen and decide.

 

[DanielSmi]

if you take out the subwoofer and leave the speakers to handle all the bass, you will get less bass, and while your dual 6.5 woofers are playing the bass you won't be able to notice as much mid range bass as you used to. Also you put a heavier load on your amps by making them power your bass instead of the amp in your sub this will give your amp less of a chance of handling the big explosions because it has such a heavier burden to carry, also the sound won't be as clean without the sub, because your amp could instead be using it's power to produce the highs and mids you will notice a better sound by keeping the sub.

Daniel Smith

 

[Brad O]

Some points to consider...

I plan to set the front M60's to the Large to take advantage of the fact they go down to 32Hz; which is lower than my 50W sub can go right now. Secondly, the M60's have an efficiency rating of 95dB, making them able to produce higher levels at lower volume, thus using less amp power.

Two years ago I had two floor-standing speakers and two surrounds and a center. The floor speakers were able to rattle the room and it sounded awesome. Then I changed and replaced the floor speakers with four bookshelfs and a subwoofer. I noticed right away that the system sucked when listening to music, thanks to the subwoofer being really horrible with music. I'm really trying to avoid having to turn on/off the sub each time I switch between music and HT.

 

[DarrellP]

I'd go with a new subwoofer. I have a pair of Klipsch towers for my mains that go down to 32 hz but they do a very bad job of reproducing lows. Most of the kick from a sub is below 32 hz and there are very few towers that are suited to handling this task. I usually set my mains for large and direct the LFE to the sub. I have my sub crossover set to 50 hz and it seems to work well with my mains at that setting. Coupled with a pair of bass shakers filtered to 50 hz, my living room rocks.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Test and see for yourself, Brad, but I would definitely recommend no-sub for 2-channel sources if your receiver has a true bypass mode and your CD player has a decent DAC. IMO, getting all the digital circuitry out of the signal path (including bass management features) allows for far better sound quality so long as your mains have sufficient bass extension. And I think the M60s will be plenty extended down there except for stuff like pipe organ music, cannons in the 1812 Overture, and the like.

But, of course, you'll want a sub for home theater applications.

 

[steve nn]

I think If it was my decision I would go with what Darrellp had to say.I think a new mmmmm-mmmmm sub would serve you very well.Cost is normally a issue with most of us,so if a sub in the Sony WM-40 range or above is out at this time,I think I would just go subless.Please don't take this as a slam.I just do not think you can put any expectations on the box you describe.

 

[Brad O]

I guess I didn't really clarify myself as to my situation. I am NOT looking for wall shaking or window shattering sound, considering I rent a room in a house and everything is set up in my bedroom, I doubt my roommate would appreciate his entire house shaking. So with that being said, I think any subwoofer bigger than 50W would be questionable. I am simply wondering if a decent HT experience can be achieved without using a subwoofer if the main speakers can achieve around 30hz.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Yes.

 

[steve nn]

With mains your speaking of, you sure can.In your situation I think it good and wise way to go.My wife has tried to kick me out many timesTo much sub for her liking. I'm constantly on probation.Have fun with your new speakers.