Not using subwoofer

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My wife tends to unplug the subwoofer so she can charge her laptop from the Sofa..

But for the last few films, knowingly I just haven't bothered to turn it on - in fact I feel that maybe the speakers do a good enough job of low frequency that living in a semi-detached house I don't feel a desire to use the sub.

Front Left/Right/Centre: 40Hz - 28Khz
Surround: 35Hz - 34kHz
Atmos: 33Hz - 28kHz

Mind you the last 6 films we watched were all Harry Potter, and perhaps I need a good end of the world film to entice me back..
 
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Soldato
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I'm intrigued what speakers you have when the atmos and surrounds go lower than fronts.
As said above tho it's there to fill in the gap between around 18-40hz. If you don't feel you need it tho then no point using it
 
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Looking at your numbers, your Atmos speakers get down lower than your main front and surrounds. Is that really correct? Seems a bit back to front.

Also, 33Hz for effects Atmos speakers. That's very low for what's normally either in-ceilings or up-firers. Something reasonably chunky such as a medium size standmount speaker like the B&W 685 S2 (bass port, 6.5" bass driver, 20 litre cabinet) only manages about 50Hz on axis, and that's at -3dB, so a reduced power level compared to the rest of the frequency range.
 
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You've quoted the frequency response numbers and that really doesn't tell the whole story.

The -6dB point is where, for any given frequency, the speaker is producing half the sound pressure level compared to 0dB. Most people can tell when there's a 1-2dB sound pressure difference. 6dB represents quite a noticeable change.

The other thing is that your Atmos and main speakers are both 4 Ohm. That means the amp is running much closer to its maximum rated output with those speakers than it would with 8 Ohm units. The sub has its own power supply and amp. Setting the speaker crossover point at say 50-60Hz would take away some of the heavy lifting from the amp and so improve dynamics. The sub doesn't have to be booming; in fact it's better if it isn't drawing attention to itself.
 
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You've quoted the frequency response numbers and that really doesn't tell the whole story.

The -6dB point is where, for any given frequency, the speaker is producing half the sound pressure level compared to 0dB. Most people can tell when there's a 1-2dB sound pressure difference. 6dB represents quite a noticeable change.

The other thing is that your Atmos and main speakers are both 4 Ohm. That means the amp is running much closer to its maximum rated output with those speakers than it would with 8 Ohm units. The sub has its own power supply and amp. Setting the speaker crossover point at say 50-60Hz would take away some of the heavy lifting from the amp and so improve dynamics. The sub doesn't have to be booming; in fact it's better if it isn't drawing attention to itself.

Ah ok, yes I was just going off the Kef numbers.

Yes the subwoofer doesn't boom and it does seem to mesh well when enabled.

Without the sub I still got what I thought was a good level of low hz sounds, I wasn't sure how much I was really missing.

I will have a review of the Anthem Room Correction setup report at some point, see what it's all doing.
 
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Caporegime
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Surely it would be easier to get a multi plug adapter thing? :p

I live in a 2nd floor apartment. I don't have a sub, hell I am only using 2 fronts and a centre for now :p - and yes, they provide a certain level of waub waubs as they're not entirely dependant on the subwoofer. But as others have said, my understand of a subwoofer was to be subtle and fill a gap.
 
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In a typical home cinema set-up where the mains aren't some giant floorstanding towers with 8" woofers then the sub is doing two jobs.

It's replaying the dedicated low frequency effects (LFE channel (the ".1" bit) of which anything under 20Hz isn't ever sent to the mains/centre/surrounds.

Then the second job of the sub is to fill in what's missing from the main 5-7 channels ( + Atmos ) down to 20Hz. This is subject to the abilities of the sub though. Not all can get down to 20Hz without some tail off in level.
 
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