wow... i bought my 1st pair of subs 30 years ago, when my main speakers - thiel 3.5's - were 2db down at 20hz. the improvement in the low end, and to the thiels as well, as they were actively crossed over at 80hz so they and the amp driving them didn't have to deal with low frequencies, was exceptional. i won't ever listen to my audio playback system without subwoofers. it's because i like every song i choose to listen to, and i want to hear it done
right. and, it's also why many major speaker mfr's actually provide subwoofer towers as part of their speaker systems.
sorry, old timer, you've been missing out all these years.
my present set-up, actively quad-amped. it's flat from 20hz-20khz, just from manipulating the volume controls on the active 24db/octave x-overs; no dsp. yes, it's true, if there's no low frequency content in a recording, your subs won't be doing anything. so what?
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enjoy your less-than full-range listening, old timer.
doug s.