Which is more desirable? Which is more effective? I know that the wife will appreciate the lesser equipment in the room, but I want to know if the combination setup will perform as well as the separate. Anyone have the tower/sub combination? I heard a set of Def Tech today & they sounded ok, but I want to be able to feel the bass...........
Sub vs. tower speakers w/sub
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Having a separate subwoofer will allow you to place it optimally in your room. Additionally, the performance of a good stand alone sub will surpass that of a tower speaker (in terms of low bass). Having a Sat/sub system will also increase the WAF (smaller speakers = good). You can hide the sub in a corner or under a coffee table...
Greg
Greg
A subwoofer's output is largely a factor of driver size, box size, and amp power. Subs in towers usually suffer in the area of box size and thus output is quite often compromised. I tried the Def Techs and was sorely dissapointed in their bass performance. Go with a seperate subwoofer.
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Those are all good answers. The only sonic advantage of an integrated sub is there will probably be greater coherency at the crossover frequency, but this will be subtle. The advantages of a separate sub outweigh this one plus.
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depends on your spkrs , subs size and amps. I have NHT VT3's which are tower spkrs and each tower has 2 8" subs controled by a seperate 500wt box. I have 2 as mains and 2 as rears and i shakes the floors/wall. deep bass not a problem.
so i think it depends on the spkrs you use.
good luck
carlos
so i think it depends on the spkrs you use.
good luck
carlos
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1,589 Posts
I'm gonna hafta vote for the seperate sub as well. Recently replaced all-in-one speakers and got a pair of Diva 6.1's and a pair of SVS 20-39's and I'm QUITE pleased.
Sean
Sean
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My Cambridge Soundworks are a sub/sat set up. I also have an Infiniti 12 in sub for H.T. use. I am using a Denon AVR 3200 as the receiver by the way. I use the sub for both music and H.T. , I set the crossover at 90Hz so as to sound best with both. For movies I DEFINITELY get a nice rumble and for music it provides a really nice punch that is not too overbearing.
The CSW's sat's are only about 8.5 x 5 x 4 inches so they are really small but for the $$$ sound awesome!! I am currently considering upgrading to Paradigm Studio 40's or M&K S-150's as mains for they both sound AWESOME and are a small cabinet. I would also upgrade the Sub to match the speaker.
CSW's website is www.hifi.com
Michael
The CSW's sat's are only about 8.5 x 5 x 4 inches so they are really small but for the $$$ sound awesome!! I am currently considering upgrading to Paradigm Studio 40's or M&K S-150's as mains for they both sound AWESOME and are a small cabinet. I would also upgrade the Sub to match the speaker.
CSW's website is www.hifi.com
Michael
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461 Posts
I have two 8" hundred watt subs built into my JBL's. I love them but it just isn't enough, I want a seperate sub to really add some LFE that will move the hairs on the body. It has been a good way to hold me over but the journey is not complete.
It has been a good way to hold me over but the journey is not complete.
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692 Posts
Brad,
I suspect you got more on this question than you expected (thus the lack of a return visit?) on the Home Theater Forum. While this can be a very heated issue, the simple fact is that every objective test we know of shows that large full-range speakers are very much a compromise (for a multitude of reasons) when it comes to "bass you can feel".
If your wife absolutely forbids a sub (doesn't seem to be the case here), then powered tower speakers should be considered. But if budget and performance are considerations in the least, go with a high-quality subs and the best main and surrounds you can afford.
The result will likely be greater performance at less cost (and possibly less space taken up) than the same with typical mains with "built in subwoofers". The very phrase is practically an oxymoron.
Many people are very pleased with large/capable mains and NO subwoofer, but most of the best minds in the business hold that a good sub is absolutely essential to the best home theater sound.
Ron
I suspect you got more on this question than you expected (thus the lack of a return visit?) on the Home Theater Forum. While this can be a very heated issue, the simple fact is that every objective test we know of shows that large full-range speakers are very much a compromise (for a multitude of reasons) when it comes to "bass you can feel".
If your wife absolutely forbids a sub (doesn't seem to be the case here), then powered tower speakers should be considered. But if budget and performance are considerations in the least, go with a high-quality subs and the best main and surrounds you can afford.
The result will likely be greater performance at less cost (and possibly less space taken up) than the same with typical mains with "built in subwoofers". The very phrase is practically an oxymoron.
Many people are very pleased with large/capable mains and NO subwoofer, but most of the best minds in the business hold that a good sub is absolutely essential to the best home theater sound.
Ron
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646 Posts
IMHO the sat+sub idea is excellent but be aware that if you want to achieve very high quality reproduction of low frequencies (but I am not convinced that's everyone's target) this setup may become quite complex and expensive. With low bass, room interaction become highly important with the risk of a system that becomes boomy.
When I initially added a very good (and quite expensive) sub to my bookshelves, my system became very difficult to listen to on some bass-heavy music. The first solution was to introduce an equalizer on the sub but then the setup is not obvious anymore.
I went down this route and today I can say that I am probably not far from the limit of such a setup with dual sub, external amp, active digital crossover, digital equalizer, external dac's... but the initial price of my bookshelves has been multiplied by 8!!!
Michel
When I initially added a very good (and quite expensive) sub to my bookshelves, my system became very difficult to listen to on some bass-heavy music. The first solution was to introduce an equalizer on the sub but then the setup is not obvious anymore.
I went down this route and today I can say that I am probably not far from the limit of such a setup with dual sub, external amp, active digital crossover, digital equalizer, external dac's... but the initial price of my bookshelves has been multiplied by 8!!!
Michel
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