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I was inspired by another thread to start this.
I've seen so many systems which have fairly decent speakers, even large towers paired up with tiny little subwoofers, like they were an afterthought. The little stepstool of a sub looks adorable, but that thing is not going to add much to the system. If anything, it will seriously hold it back, especially if your system is also used for movies.
My subs can run circles around my speakers (120db vs 100db) and it's not a problem – you can't have too much sub – because:
In summary folks, don't match subs to your mains - subs should be the most powerful speaker in the system!
My 2 pesos, from experience. Started with a 10" Velodyne.
I've seen so many systems which have fairly decent speakers, even large towers paired up with tiny little subwoofers, like they were an afterthought. The little stepstool of a sub looks adorable, but that thing is not going to add much to the system. If anything, it will seriously hold it back, especially if your system is also used for movies.
My subs can run circles around my speakers (120db vs 100db) and it's not a problem – you can't have too much sub – because:
- Movie LFE is run up to +10 dB louder than speaker channels by design
- Redirected bass from all speaker channels just adds more work for the subwoofer to do. Combined with the LFE track, this can push your sub(s) +20dB above your speakers in some scenes, especially if you run them a bit boosted anyway. If you have a surround system where lots of bass is being redirected to one small sub, you are likely running into compression at an 85 dB playback level which negatively affects sound quality and dynamics.
In summary folks, don't match subs to your mains - subs should be the most powerful speaker in the system!
My 2 pesos, from experience. Started with a 10" Velodyne.
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