F16Thud's Ski Chalet 2.1 channel system
A recent Wall’o'Fame submission of a customer’s beautiful 2.1 channel system got me thinking: how do you know if you’re better off with sat/sub combination or two floorstanding speakers?
Turns out the answer is pretty simple: it’s a matter of taste! A bookshelf-speaker-and-subwoofer combination can do an excellent job of reproducing both highs and lows. It’s a significant step up from the speakers built into your television, and it does a great job of providing high-quality sound in a small room, den, dorm, or an apartment where running wires for surround sound isn’t feasible.
Log in
A. You can use the M60 or M80 without a subwoofer because both have smooth, extended bass output, but for movie soundtracks and home theater applications, the subwoofer produces lots of very low-frequency effects designated just for the sub, plus bass for the center and effects channels, especially when you have the Bass Management in your receiver set to “Small” for the center and surround speakers. If you set your main floor standing tower speakers to “Large”, the subwoofer will still handle deep bass dedicated to the LFE channel and the towers will cover bass that was mixed full frequency to the front left and right towers. 