In yesterday’s post on subwoofers, I cautioned about the use of series crossovers: one low pass filter in the receiver feeding another in the subwoofer.
What I did not address is the age-old advice from speaker and receiver manufacturers to lessen the demands on the main speakers by means of adding a high pass filter—rolling off the bass of the main speakers.
It might seem obvious that lessening the demands of the main speaker to produce bass, by offloading that task to the subwoofer, would be beneficial.
I would argue against this practice.
If our goal in adding a subwoofer is to enhance the bass reproduction of the main speaker, then reducing the main speaker’s bass output runs counter to our mission.
Trust the designer of your main speaker. If they had thought it sounded cleaner with less bottom end then that’s what they should have built.
Well-designed full-range speakers should shine on their own.
Adding a subwoofer is the icing on the cake.
Paul McGowan / PS AUDIO
