The importance of a good subwoofer

[Auricauricle]

I originally bought a sub under the premis that doing so would smooth out and improve the palpability of midrange material. I also wanted to accentuate bottom end material on various compositions that is often more sensed than heard, such as the low thrums of bass-viol pizzicatos, etc. At this time, the latter goal has been met somewhat. Meanwhile, I continue to experiment with equalization to adjust timbral characteristics, tweaking a bit here to get more wood outta the woodwinds and more tin from the brass....

[JoeE SP9]

I can not tell a lie. I originally got a sub because I wanted "honkin'" bass. Being able to hear the 32Hz Organ note in Thus Spake Zarathustra was and is cool. Now with 2 serious subs and the woofer box that came with my Spectra's I've got all the bass I ever wanted. The woofer cabinet is only in use with surround material because it's connected to my surround speakers. With 2 channel material two asymmetrically placed subs are what the doctor ordered. I'm a happy camper.

[Luvin Da Blues]

With 2 channel material two asymmetrically placed subs are what the doctor ordered. I'm a happy camper.

Couldn't agree more. I run two Infinity 10" subs, crossed over around 55Hz, and I don't think I could get a better bass responce with just one. I run these subs in stereo.

It has been mentioned in previous threads that anything below 80Hz is omnidirectional. I'm from the school that says each channel would have a different bass responce, depending on the mixing and panning of each instrument. I would perfer to deal with any phase cancellation acoustically rather than electrically (ie; internal or external mixing [Y connector] of the lower frequencies).