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>bass and total output are definitely going to be lacking with that $500 system Definitely. OP was talking about bookshelves. Personally I'd definitely want a
by brokenmachine 4y ago
>bass and total output are definitely going to be lacking with that $500 system
Definitely. OP was talking about bookshelves. Personally I'd definitely want a sub to go with any bookshelf speaker.
>Most of the sound we hear is reflected so it helps if speakers are doing the right thing in as wide of a cone as possible. Paying more tends to get you better performance in this regard but it's a rather weak correlation.
There's differing opinions/preferences on that, and what you might prefer will also depend on the room size.
What experts generally do agree on is that the dropoff should be smooth with no peaks or resonances off-axis.
The classic examples I'm aware of are Revel vs Kef.
Revel aims for wider dispersion than Kef but other than that, they're pretty similar in terms of specs, both are very linear on-axis with a smooth dropoff.
- JohnBooty 4y agoA lot of bookshelves get you meaningful response down to ~40hz or a little below with the help of some boundary reinforcement, which is enough for a lot of people and/or music. The number of subwoofers I own has become a running joke between my brother and I, so I don't need to be sold on their value but they definitely add bulk, cost and complexity so I never want newcomers thinking they absolutely need them to have fun in this hobby.
- brokenmachine 4y agoThat's a good point. I enjoy a lot of bass-heavy music so I do feel I need one, but if I only had the budget for average speakers and a sub, or great speakers without a sub, I'd go for the great speakers without a sub. I'd probably go for good speakers with a cheap sub rather than great speakers without a sub though.