Subwoofe or new speakers

My tupp'rth is :  I have nSats in my system, and nSub (also used for AV duties).  My solution was to tune the nSub by ear (took a LONG time), but program in on my Harmony remote LP12/NDS activity a button which lets me mute the sub.  I tend to put the sub on for rock (esp heavy metal) and have it muted for everything else.  Very adverse room, with front nSats of necessity in corners (window interferes with other possible placings.  On the whole works quite well.

Bart posted:

You have a small space.  Just try a small subwoofer and see how it works. It's not worth all the hand-wringing you're reading here.  Get a small sub and try it!  (I'm very picky about sub integration and have done it at home, by ear, to my great satisfaction.  You never know 'til you try.)

I agree. I was in a similar situation, my room isn't all that big either. I added 1 8" sealed sub. I so much enjoyed the difference it made that I went and got a second to even it out in the room some. It is great for low level listening, and will kick you in the chest at high volume if you want it to

Yes totally agree low level listening is transformed ........ also the sub seams to make the sats seem more spacious and open ....... as allot of low base atmosphere is added. Re the PMC 20.21 they are good but need stacks of volume/power to push them into giving quite good base ......... so in a small room they will blast you out ....... unless you have a sub.

JRHardee posted:

Those are tiny speakers, and eminently portable. Take them down to a dealer and see if a different system might supply the missing bass. If so, you have exonerated the speakers. Look for setup problems. My experience has been that it is a lot harder to get bass into a speaker than out of it.

 

Or if you're just in the mood for a change, go for new speakers!

It's not the system, it's the little speakers.  As you note they are TINY.  I've had them in my home; awesome for their size.  Not awesome in and of themselves vs. bigger bookshelf speakers.

Full range sound quality in such a small room isn't going to be easy (and just may not be possible).  I had a Satterberg subwoofer for 30 years with my LS3/5a speakers and they sounded amazing in a large, irregularly shaped room on a concrete slab foundation.  In a smaller room on a suspended floor, they just never sang (this room was 15'x15').  A home demo will be critical for whatever you buy or you'll be throwing good money after bad.

The latest subs with sophisticated EQ are very good ........ mine works superbly in a very small room. Two things ultimately effect the sound ... if you turn up the wick up...to very loud listening levels .... room acoustic  artefacts do become very apparent ... base eq creates a wonderful sweet spot ... outside that sweet spot...things are not great. I have never heard it ... but I recon the way to go would be to use  2 subs .... with eq this would load the room - and create a much bigger sweet spot. Ultimately there is no substitute for a sensibly proportioned room and some decent full range speakers ....... but that's a perfect world...say 7x5m with a 2.5m ceiling height.........if only...