2-channel music only system ... Could I benifit by adding a sub-woofer?

Clipdat

Well, in my opinion, since you're using double the normal amount of woofers, your bass response should already be adequate.

I would just leave it as is if you are happy.

Turbota wrote: »

mhardy6647 ...

Well, in my case, I don't have an expensive "Audiophile' type music system, but there is nothing wrong with the quality of the (4) Polk speakers I now have, or the quality of the Onkyo components I am using.

All I am saying is that to my ears, my system with it's 4 speakers running sound better to me than it running just the 2 front speakers ... It just sounds more "open" with 4 speakers, if you can picture that.

The only reason I started this thread was to ask if I might benifit from adding a powered sub-woofer ... or since my system is not a home theater type system, maybe it would not be worth the money to purchase a sub.

That's why I am asking you experts.

Turbota

Clipdat wrote: »

Well, in my opinion, since you're using double the normal amount of woofers, your bass response should already be adequate.

I would just leave it as is if you are happy.

Thank you ....

Turbota

I had no idea that so many folks that are into hi-fi only want to hear there music comeing through 2 front speakers only ... and are so adverse to using any other speakers other than maybe adding a sub-woofer to the mix.

Again, as I said more than once in this thread .... I can switch my system to listen to just the front speakers, but it sounds better with 4 speakers running.

Maybe from flying military aircraft for over 20 years, these turbine engines have destroyed my sense of what sounds good, and what don't ? ?

oh well ...

Clipdat

A lot of it could be due to room layout and/or positioning of gear/speakers.

We enjoy 2 channel (with just two speakers) listening, because it's arguably the purest form of music reproduction.

Once you get into center, rear, side, surround, etc. speakers, there are lot more elements to consider. The acoustic considerations of your rear spacing speaker's waves traveling over to and cancelling out the waves from your front facing speakers is the first concern that comes to mind.

In a 2 channel rig, where realism and accuracy is the primary goal, having extra speakers in the mix just complicates things. That's probably where a lot of the pushback posts in this thread came from.

I'm sure if myself or any other Polkie were local, we'd be happy to come over and completely rearrange your room, position your speakers, and maybe even lend you some higher end interconnects so that you could hear the difference it would make. I'm not saying you would immediately love or even like the difference, but it would be a difference. It would take some getting used to, especially if you're accustomed to the sound of your current setup.

I'm confident though that if given the chance, you would grow to prefer a different speaker arrangement versus your current one. If you have time, and an open mind.

Turbota wrote: »

I had no idea that so many folks that are into hi-fi only want to hear there music comeing though 2 front speakers only ... and are so adverse to using any other speakers other than maybe adding a sub-woofer to the mix.

Again, as I said more than once in this thread .... I can switch my system to listen to just the front speakers, but it sounds better with 4 speakers running.

Maybe from flying military aircraft for over 20 years, these turbine engines have destroyed my sense of what sounds good, and what don't ? ?

oh well ...

tonyb

Turbota wrote: »

The only reason I started this thread was to ask if I might benifit from adding a powered sub-woofer ... or since my system is not a home theater type system, maybe it would not be worth the money to purchase a sub.

That's why I am asking you experts.

The only way to know for sure is to try one yourself. With 4 channels going though, my guess is you'd need 2 subwoofers to make a difference worth the experience. Something like 2 SVS SB2000's at the least. That's a considerable investment though, I might be more inclined to upgrade other parts of the system than to dive into subwoofers.

A sealed subwoofer imho may be better suited for your musical needs than a ported one.

TEAforONE

Very well put Clipdat.

Turbota

Thank you everyone for all your input.

If I do purchase a powered sub for my system, I will go with a Sealed box instead of a Ported box.

For now ... I am going to leave things as they are.

Ron,

F1nut

When you have 2 fronts and 2 rears playing the exact same sounds it creates a number of issues including the pointed out issue of cancellation. A home audio environment is not the same as a that in a car, so stop using that as a reference.

In surround systems the rears are purposely feed different/separate information for a darn good reason.

kharp1

I'd say the extra pair of speakers are doing more damage than good to your sound, unless you're trying to fake your brain into believing you have surround. You're going to get smeared signals and not truly hear the real signal.

I'd go to true 2 channel, upgrade the source, moderate upgrade on cables. You might also want to consider a pre with dual sets of outputs, which would allow you to run your sub/subs through the extra outputs. There are several good pres that offer this.

mhardy6647

You have good stuff, so, yes, you're right, my old grad school buddy's situation doesn't quite map.

I am puzzled by why you prefer four to two -- but my ears (and the CPU to which they're connected) aren't yours, and de gustibus non est disputandum.
To me, four loudspeakers producing the signals from two channels "as is" would result in a surrealistic jumble.

That said My guess is that a good and carefully integrated subwoofer could be an enhancement. (no comments on cables, one way or t'other from me!)

EDITORIAL ASIDES:

Do you use a delay with the "rear channel" speakers? Seems like it might be a good idea.

Alternatively, you might even want to try the age-old, time-honored "Hafler Dynaquad" approach. All of the matrix multichannel formats, at least up through Dolby Pro Logic, were essentially (and as I understand it) refinements of the simple but cleverly elegant approach David Hafler proposed.


http://sound.whsites.net/project18.htm

rpf65

There is one consideration often not mentioned for adding a sub.

Most people position the fronts for the best possible sound from their primary seating position. Problem is that the final speaker positioning may not be the best positioning for bass response.

Not saying there is anything wrong with a strictly 2-channel system, but if you want to add a sub, you would need a much more capable one. Those RTI's dig pretty low, even if not positioned optimally for bass response.

A capable powered sub, properly positioned and dialed in, could have you hearing things that you never knew existed in some of the songs you thought you knew.

GlennDog

rpf65 wrote: »

A capable powered sub, properly positioned and dialed in, could have you hearing things that you never knew existed in some of the songs you thought you knew.

Indeed.
Take a look at Rythmik. IMHO, ya can't go wrong ...

http://www.rythmikaudio.com

txcoastal1

GlennDog wrote: »

rpf65 wrote: »

A capable powered sub, properly positioned and dialed in, could have you hearing things that you never knew existed in some of the songs you thought you knew.

Indeed.
Take a look at Rythmik. IMHO, ya can't go wrong ...

http://www.rythmikaudio.com

They will walk you through all your questions, pre-sale and post sale

Turbota

Thanks ...