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On 13 Oct 2003 16:47:21 -0700, (Persona Non Grata)
wrote:

Gentlemen,

Thank you for the feedback. The rationale for 2 full-range fronts is
solid yet I cannot live without the subwoofer, even if this is pure
psychology. A lot of music that I listen to is all about the low end
and without that it would be like eating food with no salt. Certainly
I am exaggerating: I lived with a cheapish stereo setup that will be
blown away by anything decent I buy so not having a sub is likely to
make little difference but..

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?

I had the same type of dilemma that you are in. I liked bass so i was
sure that i *needed* a sub. I ended up getting a pair of Paradigm
Monitor 7s. For the first week i thought something was wrong. I
thought there was no bass. I couldn't make dishes rattle in the
cupboards just from the bass line. I was dissapointed as i listened to
my music.

So after a few months i end up borrowing a sub to try it out. I hook
everything up and put in my cd while i crank the volume on the sub.
Way too boomy. I start turning it down. Eventually i get it to where
it sounds just right. And to my suprise it was nearly the same as how
i had the Monitor 7s set up without the sub. They do have decent
bass, you just can't force it to overpower everything else. Car audio
systems and any system with a big boomy sub now sounds wrong to me
whereas they were my idea of ideal systems back when all i owned was
computer speakers.

I still like to turn up a sub for home teater. Not for the musical
part of it but for the effects and rumblings. But for music i'm a
convert away from the big subwoofer.

Kevin