Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) once wrote, "The less limited one feels, the more intolerable all limitation appears" (footnote 1). Although directed at the paradoxical observation that suicide rates are higher in newly prosperous countries than in those mired in poverty, his comment applies equally well to subwoofers.

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) once wrote, "The less limited one feels, the more intolerable all limitation appears" (footnote 1). Although directed at the paradoxical observation that suicide rates are higher in newly prosperous countries than in those mired in poverty, his comment applies equally well to subwoofers.

Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) once wrote, "The less limited one feels, the more intolerable all limitation appears" (footnote 1). Although directed at the paradoxical observation that suicide rates are higher in newly prosperous countries than in those mired in poverty, his comment applies equally well to subwoofers.

Although the component that actually produces the sound is obviously the loudspeaker, audiophiles know that everything in the system&mdash;digital or analog source, preamplifier, amplifier, cables, room acoustics&mdash;has an influence on sound quality. No matter how good the speaker, its performance depends on the quality of the signal, the speaker's acoustical environment, and how the speaker is set up in that environment. I've heard speakers that I <I>knew</I> to be topnotch performers sound dreadful at audio shows and in dealers' listening rooms.

Although the component that actually produces the sound is obviously the loudspeaker, audiophiles know that everything in the system&mdash;digital or analog source, preamplifier, amplifier, cables, room acoustics&mdash;has an influence on sound quality. No matter how good the speaker, its performance depends on the quality of the signal, the speaker's acoustical environment, and how the speaker is set up in that environment. I've heard speakers that I <I>knew</I> to be topnotch performers sound dreadful at audio shows and in dealers' listening rooms.

Although the component that actually produces the sound is obviously the loudspeaker, audiophiles know that everything in the system&mdash;digital or analog source, preamplifier, amplifier, cables, room acoustics&mdash;has an influence on sound quality. No matter how good the speaker, its performance depends on the quality of the signal, the speaker's acoustical environment, and how the speaker is set up in that environment. I've heard speakers that I <I>knew</I> to be topnotch performers sound dreadful at audio shows and in dealers' listening rooms.

Although the component that actually produces the sound is obviously the loudspeaker, audiophiles know that everything in the system&mdash;digital or analog source, preamplifier, amplifier, cables, room acoustics&mdash;has an influence on sound quality. No matter how good the speaker, its performance depends on the quality of the signal, the speaker's acoustical environment, and how the speaker is set up in that environment. I've heard speakers that I <I>knew</I> to be topnotch performers sound dreadful at audio shows and in dealers' listening rooms.

Although the component that actually produces the sound is obviously the loudspeaker, audiophiles know that everything in the system&mdash;digital or analog source, preamplifier, amplifier, cables, room acoustics&mdash;has an influence on sound quality. No matter how good the speaker, its performance depends on the quality of the signal, the speaker's acoustical environment, and how the speaker is set up in that environment. I've heard speakers that I <I>knew</I> to be topnotch performers sound dreadful at audio shows and in dealers' listening rooms.

Interest in super-efficient, horn-loaded, compression-driver loudspeakers has grown in the past few years, fueled in part by a renewed fascination among many hobbyists with low-powered, single-ended triode tube amplifiers. But staring down the maws of two Tubby the Tubas is not every audiophile's idea of a good time&mdash;even when the resulting sound is spectacularly fast, coherent, and extended.