Whats the difference between a “home-theater sub” and a sub built for music?
Essentially, the requirements for a good sub for music and HT should be the same, but in many people’s minds there are differences. For most HT enthusiasts the requirements are; to play loudly enough with low distortion, and to reach to about 30-35Hz. Some HT enthusiasts also want full-power extension to below 20Hz. These conditions are reasonably easy to meet. A sub that simply meets these criteria will sound passable if not great with most movie soundtracks. Realistic music reproduction and state-of-the-art HT is more difficult. Of course the above conditions must be met, but at least four more factors become important: • The transient response of the system (damping). Simply put, good transient response means the woofer will start and stop as quickly as the impulse delivered to it. Poor transient response results in a heavy, muddy, ill-defined bass quality. ( Critical HT listeners will also be bothered by this, but a bass that is slightly muddy on sound effects can be absolutely dis
