Anyone using L/R Mains with 4" Woofers?

[StrawHatRonin]

Just curious. I currently have RSL CG24s (MTM) as L/R mains which have 4" woofers. They seem to perform well. Have the AVR crossover set at 90Hz. Wondering though if I'm missing out by not having bookshelf speakers with 5" or 6" woofers. Recently upgraded the center speaker to the Klipsch RP-450c (5" woofers) and am happy with it.

 

[everettT]

Just curious. I currently have RSL CG24s (MTM) as L/R mains which have 4" woofers. They seem to perform well. Have the AVR crossover set at 90Hz. Wondering though if I'm missing out by not having bookshelf speakers with 5" or 6" woofers. Recently upgraded the center speaker to the Klipsch RP-450c (5" woofers) and am happy with it.

4" woofers can only give you so much below the transition frequency but if you have capable subs, it should be irrelevant if properly designed.

 

[StrawHatRonin]

4" woofers can only give you so much below the transition frequency but if you have capable subs, it should be irrelevant if properly designed.

I have a RSL 12S but am saving for a Klipsch RP-1400SW or maybe one of the higher end ported HSU models because the 12S needs a little help with the living area space I have (3500+ CF)

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The smallest bass woofer in any of my speakers (even in-ceiling speakers) is 8”, so I don’t do small woofers.

 

[lovinthehd]

How far do you sit from the speakers in the 3500cuft room? How loud do you listen? In my similar sized living room I found (single) 5.25" midwoofers on the light side (but work great in my small bedroom). Perhaps dual subs would be something to consider in any case or even raising crossover....

 

[ski2xblack]

Missing out? Depends. You likely have a dynamic range bottleneck with those particular mains.

If your listening habits don't exceed those limits it doesn't really matter, does it?

On the other hand, running small mains in the red will result in higher distortion than larger, more capable mains operating well within their limits.

So it depends on listening habits, your desired system performance goals, in your particular room.

RSL and Hsu subs have better performance/$ than Klipsch subs, unless they're half off.

 

[StrawHatRonin]

How far do you sit from the speakers in the 3500cuft room? How loud do you listen? In my similar sized living room I found (single) 5.25" midwoofers on the light side (but work great in my small bedroom). Perhaps dual subs would be something to consider in any case or even raising crossover....

Thanks for the reply. I sit roughly 9 feet from the mains and listen at moderatly loud levels. I am using a second 12” Bic sub but I’m selling it to go towards a real sub.

 

[everettT]

I have a RSL 12S but am saving for a Klipsch RP-1400SW or maybe one of the higher end ported HSU models because the 12S needs a little help with the living area space I have (3500+ CF)

With your mains I'd want a sub that plays well into 200hz range and cross as high as possible and with multiple subs that would help with localization. For theater I tend to cross higher than most would recommend but that is what has worked for me. In my stereo setups I constantly am going back and forth with the crossover even though I don't need subs with them.

 

[StrawHatRonin]

Missing out? Depends. You likely have a dynamic range bottleneck with those particular mains.

If your listening habits don't exceed those limits it doesn't really matter, does it?

On the other hand, running small mains in the red will result in higher distortion than larger, more capable mains operating well within their limits.

So it depends on listening habits, your desired system performance goals, in your particular room.

RSL and Hsu subs have better performance/$ than Klipsch subs, unless they're half off.

I never push them very hard. The only way I’d get the Klipsch RP-1400SW would be at the $700 Adorama deal. I can’t find much objective data on it on how it compares to other subs.

 

[ski2xblack]

I would personally go with a second RSL 12S over the Klipsch sub, and if necessary experiment with higher crossover as everett and lovin suggested, as that will sidestep dynamic range limits somewhat.