Question Sub or floorstanding?

zak66

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Hi all
I would welcome thoughts and advice on my next upgrade step. Almost all my listening is a broad spectrum of classic rock and the jazz and blues behind it. I play mostly from apple music via an airport express via toslink to my cambridge CXA60 powering a pair of very old but still lovely Mission 751s on mission stands. They play down a 4m x 9m room with a tiled floor.

I would like more bass and am looking at the BK XXLS400-DF. At some point I will need to replace the speakers and would expect to do so with a pair of more powerful floorstanders (budget up to £500) which would still be supported by the sub.

My question is would I be better off going straight to floorstanders and then deciding about the sub later or, given I like my Mission's, should I wait to replace when needed (or I want the next upgrade)?

Thanks in advance for pearls of wisdom.
 
Floorstanding.
Unless you want to go down the tiny satellite route.
 
A lot of factors come into play. For one, what you like and how you will use the system.

Can you confirm that the room is only 4m wide, and 9m long? (14ft x 30ft) And that the Speakers are on the narrow wall?

Bookshelf/Sub are good for Killer Bass, but other than deeper bass, you system gains nothing ... other than deeper bass and more bass impact.

However, with Floorstanding, you still get deeper bass with better bass impact, but you get better integration of Bass, Mid-Bass, and Midrange.

I would suspect that for Jazz and Blues, deep bass impact is not that important. Yes, you want good bass, but it doesn't need to kick you in the chest.

Then we have to consider the issue of Bass Management, few (very few) Stereo Amps have Bass Management for the Front speakers. To get the smoothest most seamless integration of Front and Sub, the High End of the Sub, has to blend smoothy with the Low End of the Front. Without Bass Management for the Front, you are forced to blend the Sub in at the natural roll-off of the Front speakers.

For example, if the Front go down to 40hz (rated) and then you have to blend the Sub in at 40hz, the natural low end roll-off of the front speaker, but that is on the assumption that the Sub Crossover can be set as low as 40hz (most can but that is generally the lowest).

So with any Front speaker, to make a Sub work properly, the low end of the Front speaker has to be in the working range of the Subwoofer, otherwise you get an unnatural bump in the response in the range where the speakers overlap.

So, given your listening to Jazz and Blues, I would absolutely say Floorstanding.

Now if you listened to Club/Techno/Dance music or Hip-Hop/Rap, then I would say Subwoofer. But for music were clarity, detail, finesse are important, a well chosen Floorstanding will serve you better.

Or ... at least... in my personal opinion.

Steve/bluewizard
 
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Floor-standing speakers would be my choice! Takes so much hassle out of the equation.
 
Now if you listened to Club/Techno/Dance music or Hip-Hop/Rap, then I would say Subwoofer. But for music were clarity, detail, finesse are important, a well chosen Floorstanding will serve you better.

I would say both - can never have too much sub ;p
 
Unless you can get speakers that do 20hz always a sub. It adds so much more than bass.
 
Both, I've run my system/s with a floorstanders subwoofer configuration for over 15 years, I've changed my sub and amp a few times with them getting bigger each time.

Important factors, ensure your subwoofer has the ability to match that of your amplifier for stop start rhythmic ability, Use a sound meter to dial the woofer in to the speakers, Use the high level speaker input and ensure the woofer has independent control for this feature.

In practice, once setup correctly, you shouldn't even know you have a sub plugged in to the system for stereo until you power it off. I also love the fact that not only does the bottom end sound better, but this also effect midrange and the higher frequencies to create a much bigger sound stage. The only problem is poor recording and at that point, you simple switch the woofer off

Get it wrong though and it can sound sluggish and over bearing with parts missing in the music

I would never be without one.

My stereo config is, my system also doubles up for AV too hence the AVR600

Arcam AVR600,
Epos ES22,
MJ Acoustics Reference 1
 

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