Combining cheap subwoofer with high quality mains

[Rockin Mike]

Am I right in thinking the sound quality of the subwoofer is not as important as the sound quality of the mains?

I'm thinking subwoofers are not directional, so dispersion is not an issue, and the ear can't really pick out the tone qualities of different speakers in those low frequencies. A sub is "felt but not heard".

What I'm thinking of doing is combining high quality mains like JBL Eon 515XT, which goes down to 42Hz, with a cheaper subwoofer like a Carvin TRX118N. It's actually the top of the line from Carvin and the matching JBL (Eon 518S) is more than twice the price.

Is this a reasonable thing to do?

I know that in theory you're supposed to match your cabs but I wonder if that becomes less important in the sub-audible frequency ranges. Who can actually hear a 40Hz fundamental anyway?

I'd especially like to hear from anyone who has real-world experience doing it both ways.

Thanks as always for your advice and opinions.

 

[Lync]

I use a Carvin powered sub (18" lsx series) that IIRC is 700 watts. Sounds punchy and deep. Easily mixes with Yorkville NX35p powered 12's and really anything I have thrown at it. I think it was around $600. Really light...I'm sure the trade off is that it doesn't go as deep as some bigger/more refined brands, but for a bar yocal, it gives that "experience" for the listeners.

That being said....I owned a powered Samson sub at one point. It might have been a 15, I can't quite remember. What I do remember is that is couldn't put out enough volume to keep up with the mains. So...some cheapies are good, some not so much.

 

[Jazzdogg]

With cheap subs, it's not uncommon to EQ a preventative dip from around 100Hz to 200Hz because sub distortion can foul those frequencies with nasty harmonics that can make the the overall mix sound bad. IME, differences in clarity and articulation are often attributable to the quality (or lack thereof) of subs.