My music preference is Classical (i.e. Mahler, Shostakovich) & Classic rock (Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin) I'm using a 65 watt integrated amp (Cambridge Azur) and KEF bookshelf speakers. The system sounds a tad shy in the bass, even when I have the bass knob turn all the way up. Double bass and tuba notes don't quite sound at the volume that they should - I listen to lots of live music, so I have a pretty good idea how loud those instruments should sound in the context of a piece of music). I've heard that a small room, often enough, can only accommodate so much bass (say down to 35hz or 40hz). Below that it can make things worse rather than better... it may actually distort the music. That's hearsay. I'm 'all ears' to anything that may be said on that. Anyway, I'm considering buying the humble, inexpensive, Polk Audio PSW10 10-inch subwoofer($179.96 at Amazon) I'm thinking it can give a bit more body to the music and extend the bass enough so that lack of it doesn't attract my attention away from the music.
I don't want to give the impression that what I have now is completely unaceptable. In fact, the KEF/Azur combo is pretty good. People (music enthusiasts) seem to think the small Polk sub is quite musical, and that is all that I need. My amp is not audio/video... simply an 'old-school' 2-channel. We use to simply call it "stereo" back in '74 ;) I sure would appreciate some feedback on this matter; that is, do you think a 10-15 HZ bass-extension will make a positive contribution to my listening experience?
in my experience polk is a brand to shy away from for subwoofers. i havent heard that particular one but most dont blend well with the mains.
I just heard a REL t3 while auditioning a turntable. it was accompanying small bookshelves so i knew the deep and authoritative bass wasnt coming from those, but i had to ask the dealer if it was on because it blended superbly with the $2000 pair of speakers.
I am assuming you wont get this from the polk and the REL will be much better, but its $600 and so a bit out of your price range. however once you hear it, you will know its worth the extra money.
the thing about a sub is it needs to sound like your bookshelf speakers are actually full ranges. thats what they need to blend like. just listen before you buy.
"The system sounds a tad shy in the bass, even when I have the bass knob turn all the way up."
Then you probably have room issues that need to be to dealt with before you invest in a subwoofer. Make certain you have the speakers and your listening chair positioned properly in the room. If you cannot hear bass with the control cranked, you are very likely sitting in a standing wave's null point.
Start off with speaker/chair positioning. Place "WASP loudspeaker set up" in a search engine and start with that set up technique. Other methods of speaker placement will very likely come up in the search engine and you should read those to gather information. Do not combine methods. Stick to the one that works in your room, the WASP program almost always does well.
If you are unfamiliar with room issues, place "ASC tube traps" in a search engine. The room determines the bass response of the system. You needn't fill a room with tube traps but you must understand how the room influences the set up and thus the results.
Hey Alex, I appreciate your recommendation, but there is no way I'm going to spend $600 on a subwoofer. At that price, I can make-do without one. All I need is something that gives me a bit more clean bass and leaves a small footprint. It seems like making a decision about a subwoofer is a more complicated issue than I had anticipated. I might just have to forget about it. Putting that aside for the moment, do you (or anyone else) know anything about the Velodyne VX-10 subwoofer? I have yet to see a bad review about it.
NOTE to Jan: I don't think I have a room issue. I was using a vintage (circa 1970's)Sansui AU 555 and was getting pretty good bass out of my KEF bookshelf speakers. Recently I bought a Cambridge Audio Azur (because I wanted a remote) and noticed that I had less bass, even when the bass knob was turned all the way up. I'm satisfied with the Azur in all other respects. By the way, my 'listening chair' happens to be a bed My room is quite small (about 14x12). Considering that I have a large bed with a large bookshelf headboard and a custom made audio cabinet in it already, there simply isn't room for a comfortable chair that can be moved about strategically for listening.
if you dont want to shell out the money for a REL you could investigate Paradigm, they have a decent sub at around $300. another option is HSU research with the stf-1, also at 300. the paradigm will be cleaner, but the HSU will go deeper and louder
I'd investigate Jan's suggestion first. But if you really have your heart set on the Polk rest assured, they're not horrible.
I run 2 of the PSW10's in my HT setup. I also have the VX-10 in a 2 channel system and it is a very tight, fast sub. The only thing I don't like about the Velodyne is that the sensitivity is quite low on, so I have to crank the sub volume up quite high.
Given the dimensions of the room, if you have not set the speakers up by anything more than the "they fit there" method of speaker placement, you need to investigate a real set up program before you spend money. Even if the Sanaui gave "better bass" than your current amplifier, do yourself a favor and do some work getting the most from what you already have. If you decide to buy a subwoofer, it needs proper set up also. You cannot plunk speakers or a sub into a space and expect the space to accomodate them without some effort on your part. It is merely a case of physics overriding decor. All rooms have resonant peaks and nulls and in a room the size of yours standing waves where bass is cancelled by colliding wave fronts. I really don't care if you don't want to do a set up but, if you don't even read about and begin to understand what's happening in your room before you go spend money, you are being foolish.
I think I may have a solution to produce a slight shudder in the sofa with the means of piece of wood! That's right a piece of wood I'll hath to conduct a few tests, based on an idea that I discovered 9 years ago and it involves a piece of wood, placed in the simplest of ways and it produce a slight shuddering effect thou I didn't have REW or TrueRTA or even a waterfall frequency graph analyzer at the time, so I'll hath to look for a piece of wood and conduct the test tomorrow as its rather late now to play sine waves between 18Hz to 120Hz, never mind 10Hz!
If you place your hand on your stomach and pressing up and down that's low! Or hold out your arm and clinch your fist and start moving it back and forth or you can wank-off and that's a low sensational feeling.
My room is quite small (about 14x12). Considering that I have a large bed with a large bookshelf headboard and a custom made audio cabinet in it already, there simply isn't room for a comfortable chair that can be moved about strategically for listening.