Quote Originally Posted by Geoffcin
Sat/sub is good for HT, but for the highest quality stereo sound a full range speaker is the best choice. The real question you have to ask yourself is how much "full range" you want. To get a speaker of quality that goes down to the 20hz range is going to be expensive. If you can settle for mid 30's then there's a lot more choices. The good thing is that most music has no content lower than 30hz, so you will not miss much.
I am not sure I agree with this, a sub/sat will give you more bang for buck if you require extension and give better bass tuning flexibility especially in the sub USD1000 market. If you already have bookshelfs that you like, then I suggest you go with a sub, if well integrated with your mains, it will give you sound quality that many of the cheaper floorstanders simply cannot match. A sub that goes low will capture the sound of the recording venue even if there is no music content at that level, i.e. it simply sounds more complete, since you hear the natural decay of the music within the context of the recording environment instead of a speaker imposed rolloff.