As long as I am reminiscing about Quad electrostatics, I still remember my first experience with a subwoofer and another electrostat I owned.
The sub was an M&K, one of the early powered models, and I paired it with my Acoustat 2+2 electrostatics. For those who don’t know, the 2+2s were tall, thin, and fast as lightning. Four electrostatic panels per speaker, stacked vertically—massless and airy, with imaging so precise you could practically walk between the musicians. What they didn’t have was bass (or dynamics, but that's yesterday's story).
So I did what a lot of us did in those days—I bought a sub.
What followed was a long, frustrating exercise in what not to do. The sub was too slow. The timing never quite lined up. Every note from the bottom end felt like it was dragging behind the music. It thumped when it should have added foundation. I tried everything—different positions, phase switches, crossover points. I kept turning down the volume, thinking maybe if I just nudge it a little more, it’ll finally lock in.
After more than an hour of tweaking, moving, and re-tweaking, I finally got it. The bass disappeared—in the best possible way. The system sounded full and natural. I had preserved the magic of the 2+2s and finally extended it into the lower octaves.
Then I looked at the sub’s level control.
It was set to zero.
Doh!
That experience stuck with me. For years I avoided subs, thinking they were a mismatch for true high-end systems. And back then? Maybe they were. But today, things are different.
Modern subwoofers are faster, tighter, and more musical. They’re built to keep up with the speed of planar speakers. And they’re not just about adding low end—they’re about restoring balance. Because in nearly every room, the ideal spot for bass is not the ideal spot for imaging. That’s why decoupling the two is essential.
A properly integrated sub isn’t about boom. It’s about weight, tone, and scale. It’s about letting your main speakers breathe and do what they do best.
Today, subs aren’t optional. They’re part of the reference system. But they have to be the right ones—and they have to be set up right.
And yes, the volume should probably be above zero.
