Quality of a 2.1 speaker set without the subwoofer?

JohnJSal · 01-09-2008, 08:48 AM

If I were to set up a 2.1 speaker set but not use the subwoofer, would the two satellite speakers sound any different than if I had just bought a 2.0 system?

The reason I ask is because I see a nice looking and fairly cheap 2.1 set, but I hate dealing with the subwoofer. So I'm just curious if it's optional, or if it is somehow required for a 2.1 set to sound good.

Thanks.

Garethman!!` · 01-09-2008, 04:19 PM

You really need the subwoofer for better sound, without the woofer, its very bland.

JohnJSal · 01-09-2008, 07:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Garethman!!`

You really need the subwoofer for better sound, without the woofer, its very bland.

But would it be any worse than just using two speakers? What I'm trying to find out is if buying a system with a subwoofer, but not using the subwoofer, will make the system sound worse that if you had just used a 2.0 system. In other words, is a 2.1 system optimized for a subwoofer, and the satellite speakers will sound bad without it? (Bad, as in worse than even two regular speakers).

I know the sound will be better with a subwoofer, I'm just trying to figure out if it will be more worse than normal without it.

Hope that makes sense.

TFT · 01-09-2008, 09:37 PM

a 2:1 system is optimised for the use of a sub. The satellite speakers are tuned for the higher frequencies and bass would be virtually non existant on them. Whereas a 2:0 system has a much wider frequency range.

JohnJSal · 01-09-2008, 09:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TFT

a 2:1 system is optimised for the use of a sub. The satellite speakers are tuned for the higher frequencies and bass would be virtually non existant on them. Whereas a 2:0 system has a much wider frequency range.

Thank you! Exactly what I was wanting to know!

[-0MEGA-] · 01-09-2008, 09:50 PM

Also to add, most 2.1 systems have the amplifier also installed in the same box as the sub, and the speakers usually connect to the sub itself. So on most 2.1 setups, without the sub you won't have use of the two speakers.

JohnJSal · 01-09-2008, 09:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by [-0MEGA-]

Also to add, most 2.1 systems have the amplifier also installed in the same box as the sub, and the speakers usually connect to the sub itself. So on most 2.1 setups, without the sub you won't have use of the two speakers.

Thanks again. That's the kind of detail I was wondering about.

01-09-2008, 08:48 AM	#1 (permalink)
JohnJSal Platinum Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Hoboken, NJ Age: 28 Posts: 523	Quality of a 2.1 speaker set without the subwoofer? If I were to set up a 2.1 speaker set but not use the subwoofer, would the two satellite speakers sound any different than if I had just bought a 2.0 system? The reason I ask is because I see a nice looking and fairly cheap 2.1 set, but I hate dealing with the subwoofer. So I'm just curious if it's optional, or if it is somehow required for a 2.1 set to sound good. Thanks.

01-09-2008, 04:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
Garethman!!` Platinum Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: UK and USA Age: 17 Posts: 910	You really need the subwoofer for better sound, without the woofer, its very bland. __________________ CPU: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9450 / AMD Athlon 64 X2 TK-53 1.70GHz RAM : 8GB DDR2 PC6400 / 2GB DDR2-667 PC5300 A-DATA HDD : 750GB SATA Seagate Barracuda/ Western Digital Scorpio 250GB 7200RPM GPU : Radeon HD2900XT 512MB / Radeon Xpress 1150 128MB OS : Windows Vista Ultimate x64 / Windows Vista Home Premium

01-09-2008, 09:37 PM	#4 (permalink)
TFT Diamond Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Yorkshire, UK Posts: 1,727	a 2:1 system is optimised for the use of a sub. The satellite speakers are tuned for the higher frequencies and bass would be virtually non existant on them. Whereas a 2:0 system has a much wider frequency range. __________________ Operator: Dave Operating System: XP Professional SP2 Processor: Intel E6750 Core Duo@3.20GHz Graphics: Nvidia 8500GT C: Drive 500GB D: Drive 250GB Memory: 2GB

01-09-2008, 09:50 PM	#6 (permalink)
[-0MEGA-] Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Concord, NH Age: 19 Posts: 26,410	Also to add, most 2.1 systems have the amplifier also installed in the same box as the sub, and the speakers usually connect to the sub itself. So on most 2.1 setups, without the sub you won't have use of the two speakers. __________________ Core 2 Duo E8400 @ 3.83GHz Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L ATI HD 3870 GDDR4 @ (840/2332) 4GB (2x 2GB) DDR2-850 500GB SATAII HD w/16MB SilverStone 750W +12V@60A 3DMark06: 11593

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