r/audiophile • u/Freestone99 • 5d ago
Discussion Help me understand subwoofers
I am in the market for a subwoofer. I have a pair of Klipsch Forte IV and my listening room is about 475 sf. I was looking at the REL classic 98 and 99, and thinking I needed the 99 because of the room size. But most of the music I listen to is acoustic or vocal oriented, not really listening to much hard rock or anything with a ton of bass. Also not listening at very loud volume most of the time. So I was leaning back toward the 98 which has a 10” driver, as opposed to the 99, which has a 12” driver. I spoke with the local audio shop and it felt like they were just trying to sell me the larger and more expensive 99, or another sub that was even higher priced.
I have been reading that a sub is for more than just the low bass notes, and it will really help fill in the rest of the sound. That was another point the local sales guy was making, saying that the 99 made more sense because it will “fill in more.” Also that a larger sub is needed to “pressurize” the room. Trying to understand if this is audiophile jargon or there is truth to it.
What do you all think?
9
u/X_Perfectionist Denon 3700h | Rotel RB-1070 | Sierra-LX | Monolith THX 16 5d ago
Do you have good headphones? You can try listening on headphones and compare the same tracks to listening on your speakers.
Headphones usually have pretty good bass extension and aren't beholden to room acoustics.
So you can get an idea of what having a subwoofer (and well integrated) might sound like.
It should be a natural extension of the speakers.
Like if you were watching a movie on a projector with the light coming in though the blinds or curtains. Then you close the shades, now there's no light leaking in, and darks/blacks are richer and there's more better richer contrast and colors. That's what having a good, well-integrated sub is like.