Not using a sub at all (just 4 "large" speakers)

INXS

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Moving abroad soon, and I'm limited for space.

I have 2 pairs of Mordaunt Short MS10s in the loft that I may take with me, along with four of the 6 Tannoy satellite speakers (and the centre) that I have around the lounge as we speak.

If I have the Dolby Atmos AVR set at 5.0.4 with the centre and height speakers set for "small" with the 'main' 4 speakers set for "large", will this be as good as taking the sub with me and that as the only low end output?

Thanks in advance
 
Errr, no. Not even close!

Going by the Richer Sounds listing the lower frequency limit of the MS10s is only 90 Hz. That won't sound good for music let alone being able to deliver LFE signals.
 
:laugh: Even my kids don't suffer from that kind of wishful thinking come Christmas and birthdays.
 
Setting any of the speakers to Small without a sub means loss of the low frequency information - and that's without the Low Frequency Effects channel. You really need that sub for good movie sound, although it can be argued that it's of much less benefit for music.
 
If you want to save space but have a system focused on movies then I'd have thought a 2.1 setup would be the best plan.
 
You really need that sub for good movie sound, although it can be argued that it's of much less benefit for music.

You definitely don't need a sub for music, but you do need main speakers that play significantly lower frequencies that 90 Hz. Such speakers are only really sold on the assumption that they'd be used in conjunction with a sub.
 
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You definitely don't need a sub for music, but you do need main speakers that play significantly lower frequencies that 90 Hz. Such speakers are only really sold on the assumption that they'd be used in conjunction with a sub.
Why would you not need a sub for music? All sorts of music goes very low. My towers only go down to about 45hz.
 
Why would you not need a sub for music? All sorts of music goes very low. My towers only go down to about 45hz.
I think the point he's making is that you don't need a sub for music if you have capable main speakers.
 
Why would you not need a sub for music? All sorts of music goes very low. My towers only go down to about 45hz.

Some music goes very low but most does not. I come from a 2 channel background and overwhelming most system do not have a sub, including very high end ones. The challenge of seemlessly integrating a sub into a stereo system is one reason for this, as well as I suspect many people having their view coloured by experiences with cheap subs or people who just turn them up way too loud compared to the mains.

I am actually currently working on integrating a sub into my own 2 channel music focused system though :). I'm using a miniDSP 2x4 HD to do this but most traditional audiophiles wouldn't want such a cheap DAC as the basis of their system. I've posted on HiFi forums far more than I have here BTW.
 
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I think the point he's making is that you don't need a sub for music if you have capable main speakers.
I suppose there is debate about what you mean by need, and what you mean by capable. £10k Kef Reference 5 only manages 25hz at -6db. Even if you have 802 Diamonds that output 17hz you could be potentially better served by having a subwoofer and being able to position that optimally in the room.

If your cutoff for capable is something above the 802s I'll just have to take your word for it as that is so far outside my frame of reference I can't speak to it!
 
If your cutoff for capable is something above the 802s I'll just have to take your word for it as that is so far outside my frame of reference I can't speak to it!

My principle reference here is that none of the best systems I've heard for music have included a sub, and generally don't have much in the way of output below let's say 40 Hz. I'm talking seriously impressive systems here hence my view a sub is absolutely not a requirement for a good music system. And I'd add that poorly integrated subs are very capable of making decent music systems sound worse.

I'll reiterate that I'm am though experimenting with a sub in my own system (with speakers that are -6dB down at 30 Hz).
 
I'll just add that I'm not just referring to very high end systems here. Suggesting that speakers of the ilk of the B&W 802 are required to be considered 'capable' is setting an exceptionally high bar!
 
i don't have 802D's. i do have 803S's and while they may not go as low as the 802D's they will go low, but stil beneffited significantly from a sub(2 in my case) for music
 
thanks everyone. the transport / freight issue has now been negated by the fact I'll be driving over to Spain, so I've got room for my sub, records and all the other essentials!
 

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