Do I need a Subwoofer?

Sly Fly

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Having ordered an amp (avr1905) I'm now narrowing down on my selection of speakers for my first ever Home Cinema experience.

Having just talked to a mate of mine who's got a kind of budget home cinema, he's now got me thinking. I come to you lot for your expert advice! :)

He was told (by Richer Sounds) that he did not need a subwoofer because it's only for when you want to play loud sound. The front speakers can handle normal bass.

In my position, I have paper-thin walls and I want to keep on friendly terms with the neighbours. So my question is do I actually need a sub if I'm not going to have movie sound that high? Should I just spend extra cash on some decent front speakers instead?

Yours, confusedly,

:confused:
 
Tricky one this. Mt fronts are pretty big floor standers and are more than capable of producing good bass, when listening to CD's they are the only speakers used. However I use a Subwoofer when watching a DVD as even at lower volumes I prefer the sound. I suppose it depends on what speakers you are using, most small satellite style speakers don't have the range required to give full frequency sound.
 
Most people would probably agree that a sub does add a new dimension to AV (contrary to what RS might say, they actually have a very pronounced effect at low volumes). They certainly don't go well with thin walls and neighbours though so you may well be better off without, at least try and get a demo either at home or in someone elses house to make up your own mind. :)
 
Cheers for the quick responses :smashin:

I'm beginning to think that a sub may not be a good idea - yet. I can always add one at a later date I suppose, but, being a newbie to all this I'm sure five speakers are going to sound a lot better than my current sound ported through a fifteen year old Sony HiFi :D

Gale Floorstanders here I come then unless you guys know of better budget floorstanders...

Thanks again!
 
What we refer to as full range speakers can handle the bass from most CD's and will make a reasonable fist of films. What they cannot do is to reproduce the deeper bass from the low frequency effects that you feel as much as hear.

The problem is that those same low frequency effects are the ones that transmit through walls so easily so if I was in your position I would spend the extra on a better pair of speakers and not risk upsetting the neighbours.
 
Thank god I asked you lot. :)

Whilst strictly not a subwoofer question :

If I don't go with one, what floorstanders are best? I'm on a restricted budget, so, anything in the £150 range would be ideal. Not a lot to choose from I know, which is why I'm leaning toward the Gale's, which got a good review from HomeChoice. (probably end up buying the Gale centre and bipolar rears as well)

Thanks again!
 
First thing to do is keep an eye on our Classifieds forum as bargains come up regularly. A decent set of used speakers is better than a new set of cheap speakers. Second thing I personally would do is look for floor standing speakers that can be mass loaded as this can really effect the way the speakers deal with bass. Mass loading is filling the bass of the speakers with sand or other dense materials.
 
You shouldn't overlook stand-mount (aka bookshelf) speakers at your budget. You can probably find a cheap pair of stands for ~£40 and then still have £110 left for speakers. A £110 pair of smaller speakers will generally be better than a £110 pair of floorstanders, in my experience the difference in bass extension, although noticable, isn't that great. It will depend on your priorites though, I went for smallish Mission 771e's for just this reason (ie. they'll outperform similarly priced floorstanders in most respects).

As mylo says, keep an eye on the classified section, maybe put a wanted ad up and see who wants an excuse to upgrade :)
 
I understand what you're saying.

I guess that I want the Floorstanders for the "look" factor. I also want to go in at a reasonable price level as I will probably upgrade in a couple/few years time. At least this way, (buying a budget-but-good package) will give me a good grounding for my next upgrade.

I'm now looking at Cresta 30's (plus 20C + 10). Expect that to change in the next ten minutes too. :laugh:
 
I have floorstanders for my fronts and sat on that for a while hoping that a sub wasnt required.

I then got myself and in-expensive Pardigm PDR8 from the forums classified and the sound difference is amazing!!

Every movie that I watched before I had to re-watch again and the difference was astonishing. Each movie created a whole new experience and really brought the thing to life. There where sounds happening that you would never knew existed until the subby was introduced.

Movies like Lord of The Rings, Final Desination 2 and so on, became alive with the new bass.

I have a semi detached and the joinng wall is concrete and my foor is sub concrete, so I dont have a problem with the neighbours- well they havent said anything!! :laugh:
 
Damn. I suppose I'm going to have to wait until Richer Sounds are giving away free detached houses with their speaker packages. :clown:

I fully agree that the sound will be better with a woofer - but like you I will wait until I've had the cinema experience and then bolt on a sub after a few months. And if I have to watch my films all over again then so much the better. :smashin:

(Added Mission M73i to my considerations now)
 
Sly Fly said:
Having ordered an amp (avr1905) I'm now narrowing down on my selection of speakers for my first ever Home Cinema experience.

Having just talked to a mate of mine who's got a kind of budget home cinema, he's now got me thinking. I come to you lot for your expert advice! :)

He was told (by Richer Sounds) that he did not need a subwoofer because it's only for when you want to play loud sound. The front speakers can handle normal bass.

In my position, I have paper-thin walls and I want to keep on friendly terms with the neighbours. So my question is do I actually need a sub if I'm not going to have movie sound that high? Should I just spend extra cash on some decent front speakers instead?

Yours, confusedly,

:confused:

Every HT (and even two channel Stereo audio systems) needs and requires use of a subbass system. Having said that, be prepared to move 'cuz your neghbors will hate 'ya 'fer sure! :rotfl:

Sorry, but there just is no free lunch when it comes to FULL RANGE sound reproduction... ;)

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."
 

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