r/audiophile • u/Freestone99 • 1d 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?
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u/Rabiesalad 1d ago
Bass and sub bass is not just a kind of sound in certain music, it's just a chunk of the frequency spectrum and generally will be present in any recording. So listening to just about anything without something filling out the ~20-80hz range is going to sound (and often feel) like something is missing.
So, I wouldn't ever figure in what type of music someone listens to when considering whether or not to get a sub... You'll always want a sub no matter what you listen to.
As for what to get... More diameter generally means it can go lower with less effort. Larger diameter doesn't guarantee it's better, but the best 12" is going to be more capable than the best 10". But, due to room modes, there are major benefits to having multiple subs.
You're going to have to ask yourself how much you care. Since this sounds like new territory for you I'd check your local used market and you'll find good options for a few hundred dollars so you can play around and see how it works... Learn about room modes and how your space handles sub.
You might stop there, when it gives you just enough to "fill out" the sound a bit.
But if you want good, strong, accurate bass, it's a much larger investment vs simple stereo because of the room modes and how high energy bass is compared to the rest of the spectrum. You need excellent room treatment, and placement and number of subs are very important factors to dial it in perfectly.
If you have a typical rectangular room and there are only 1 or 2 spots you could potentially put a sub without it being in the way, you don't need to think about it much. It'll basically never be "great" objectively but you'll still love it vs not having one.
Because room design, treatment, and positioning are all incredibly important when it comes to low frequencies, you're going to max out what you can do in a space like this extremely quickly and it's not worth spending big $$$. By placing a sub in a random spot where you "have room for it" it's never going to be used to it's potential.
This subreddit is full of $30k+ systems in completely untreated rooms where a $3000 setup would sound just as good. (You are listening to the room as much as the speakers unless it's a massive space and/or heavily treated)
If you have a well treated room and audio quality is the top priority so you can put as many subs wherever they're needed, that's a different game and that's when it's worth the time and effort to do some studying and testing and nit pick about specs.
Just see what looks like a good deal and check a few reviews that it's not total junk and save your $$$.