Speaker Setup – Part 5

Using A Subwoofer

Right, let’s talk about subwoofers. Not in the context of home cinema or multi-channel setups but in serious two-channel, high-fidelity systems. The kind of setups where we’re chasing transparency, emotional impact, spatial accuracy, and all the stuff that makes music feel alive. In that world, subwoofers can be tricky. Useful, yes – but often misunderstood because they’re too often added for the wrong reasons, and when that happens, they don’t just underperform – they actively hold back the rest of the system. So this post is less about how to use a subwoofer, and more about when it’s the right tool for the job. And when it isn’t.

Subwoofers don’t fix broken systems

It’s a surprisingly common path: someone’s system doesn’t feel satisfying in the low end – bass is weak, thin, or just not as rich or grounded as it should be. So they add a subwoofer.

But here’s the problem: in a well-matched, well-set-up system, a lot of what people think is “missing bass” isn’t actually missing – it’s just being choked somewhere upstream.

• The amp might not have the grip or current delivery to properly control the speakers’ bass drivers.

• The source might be rolled off, slow, or tonally lightweight.

• Cables could be blunting dynamics or acting as filters in subtle but audible ways.

• Speaker placement might be suppressing room gain or cancelling bass at the listening position.

If any of those are the issue, a subwoofer won’t fix them. And often, it’ll distract from the real problems. So you end up with more bass, but less true musical insight. The system sounds heavier, but not more involving.

The proper sequence: Diagnose first, then decide

If your room is a good match for your speakers – i.e., they’re not oversized and flabby, nor tiny and struggling – then the first step isn’t shopping for a sub. It’s having a proper conversation about what’s actually going on. At Winters Audio, we’ve seen this many times. A customer suspects bass problems, but when we look closely, it’s often the rest of the system creating the limitation. That’s why we almost always recommend a bit of guided trial and error before you even think about adding more hardware.

• Try swapping in a different amp particularly something with strong current delivery and low output impedance.

• Re-evaluate your sources – not just in terms of resolution, but tonal balance and timing.

• Test out cable changes (especially speaker cables or mains cables to power amps). Yes, it requires some experimentation, but sometimes it’s night and day.

• Adjust your main speaker positioning! Make sure you go through all my previous speaker setup blogs before pulling the trigger on a sub.

When done methodically, these steps don’t just improve bass – they improve everything. Imaging locks in better. The midrange opens up. You start to hear depth and subtlety that were previously buried. And you often find when that transparency, resolution and control improves, the bass is there after all.

When a subwoofer is the right choice

There are times though when it absolutely makes sense. Small room? Limited space? A system based on compact speakers or satellite setups? In those cases, the bass capability isn’t there to begin with, and you’re not trying to fix something – you’re completing the picture. A well-chosen sub can help extend the system’s bandwidth, give a sense of scale and authority, and make certain recordings sound more convincing, especially those with pipe organ, cinematic synth, or live acoustic ambience that drops well below 40Hz. But that doesn’t mean you just plug it in and crank it. The best subwoofer integrations are the ones where you forget the sub is even there. That means:

• Crossover point set low – just enough to pick up where the main speakers naturally fall off

• Volume kept conservative – more felt than heard

• Phase alignment dialed in – ideally with in-room measurements or careful listening

• Positioning treated seriously – corners can load more energy but risk bloat; central placement can create a smoother response.

Done right, the sub just lays down a subtle, invisible floor under the music. It shouldn’t jump out. It shouldn’t impress on its own. It should just complete the system.

The real pursuit isn’t bass – it’s musicality

And that’s where this all comes back together. The pursuit here isn’t about bigger numbers on a spec sheet, it’s about the system getting out of the way of the music. A subwoofer can help with that – but only when it’s the final step in a process that’s already got the fundamentals nailed down. If you use a sub to paper over the cracks, you’ll never hear what your system is truly capable of.

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