Some contentious issues will not be resolved in my lifetime: vinyl vs. digital, tubes vs. solid-state, subjective vs. objective, streaming vs. physical media. Also, subwoofers vs. no subwoofers in a stereo music system.
Setting aside the issues of cost and space and domestic tranquility and considering only the quality of the musical experience, I believe a subwoofer, or a few, should be a basic component of any modern audio system.
Regardless of the size and range of yours, loudspeakers—the main ones—are always positioned for optimal tonal balance and imaging based on their on-axis frequency response, off-axis dispersion, and the interaction of those parameters with a room’s reflective surfaces. Optimizing low bass presents completely different challenges: Sources of low bass should be positioned to optimize interaction with low-frequency room modes, which in turn depend on the room’s dimensions and shape. (Low bass is not involved in imaging, and in the low bass, “direct sound” is not even a useful idea.)
Except by chance or in a few purpose-built rooms—not all of them—there is no common solution to both tasks: no single spot that’s best for low bass and the rest of the audible frequency range. The addition of subwoofers allows independent solutions to a music system’s high- and low-frequency needs: You can position the subs independently of the main speakers, putting each in the position that works best. The possibility of incorporating several subs, each a different location, adds to this advantage.
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Denne historien er fra August 2020-utgaven av Stereophile.
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Louis in London
No jazz-centric visit to New York City is complete without a trek out to Queens. At 46th Street in Sunnyside stands the apartment building where famed cornetist Leon Bismark \"Bix\" Beiderbecke's alcoholism finally killed him in 1931.
Believing in bricks and mortar
North Carolina hi-fi dealer Audio Advice has been busy lately.
Musical Fidelity AI
In 1989, I bought my second pair of Rogers LS3/5a's from a guy on Staten Island who had them hooked up to a Musical Fidelity AI integrated amplifier.
Burmester 218
As much as I tinkered with a little crystal radio as a child and started reading stereo magazines in high school, it wasn't until my early 30s that I half-stumbled into the higher end of the hi-fi sphere.
Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature
The \"Bowers\" in the name of British manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) refers to founder John Bowers, whom I got to know fairly well before he passed in 1987.
Hegel H400
STREAMING INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle
How many times have you been told by parents and teachers that everything successful must be built on a strong foundation?
RECOMMENDED RC2024 COMPONENTS
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable.
Paging Dr. Löfgren
It started one evening when I was killing time watching YouTube videos and stumbled across a 2017 talk given by Jonathan Carr, Lyra's brilliant cartridge designer.'
Music among the Fairchildren
Pull down the shades, find a comfortable seat, and come with me on an imaginary journey to the year 1956. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket wins reelection, the United Methodist Church begins to ordain women, and a can of Campbell's tomato soup costs 10 cents.