Amen. Aside from sound effects, you are better off getting decent
speakers which can approach really full range while maintaining low
distortion and good dispersion than being seduced by the tish-boom of
the typical cheap satellite-sub packages.

Kal

On Mon, 13 Oct 2003 21:45:56 -0400, Bill wrote:

Persona Non Grata wrote:

Is there not a powered sub + 2 fronts (bookshelves or sats or
lower-end floor-standing units) combo that will do better than 2
full-range fronts given a total budget of $600 or so?

Not for that price. A decent sub alone is about $500, and to that you
have to add the cost of a good set of bookshelf speakers, and possibly a
set of stands as well. You should consider increasing your budget if the
sub/sat is your final choice.

However, you can get a decent pair of tower speakers that will sound
pretty good for $600.

The need for a sub is over-hyped these days. Everyone thinks they need a
sub so they can rattle the dishes and shake the neighbours walls, when
in fact that means the system is poorly tuned for proper levels of bass
output. The first thing any salesman does is crank up the volume level
of the sub to impress you with its power and authority. But that does
not make it sound good or accurate.

A good sub is one that does not make its presence easily known, and one
that has good output that is also accurate and not boomy or produce a
one note thump (40-50Hz hump).