Ethos and subwoofers

[edwinr]

Ethos owners. Does anyone match their speakers with subs? If so, what brand/type?

Does anyone run the Ethos full range without sub reinforcement? How do they sound in room minus sub?

For information, I currently own a REL T2 sub. This sub matched perfectly with the Theos, but looking at the specs, I am wondering whether I will need the REL with the Ethos.

 

[roberto]

Hola. Ethos is a giant killer. The bass response is deep and robust. The new digital crossover built in, allows to control the bass response for the standing waves from 100Hz +-10dB!. It all depends of how do you like to listen to the music. I could live without a sub with them, and I don´t think I will get one, due to have a very good bass response that they have! If you want to listen to a heavy organ deep bass, perhaps you might get a little help from a well sounding sub, but usually what the sub does is a bass mess, making it to sound much bigger than it should, and loosing the bass proportion in size, where the bass player should be, next to the other musician(s). The Ethos provide enough full power bass for most rooms. It is a jewel to use! The Ethos outperform to my ears, many speakers costing three or four times their retail price in many ways, and the bass control is one of them. Yes, you could match a sub, but you have to do a lot of listening time, to have them singing along together. Happy listening!

 

[jmschnur]

If you want 5.1 you will need a sub. Music , as Roberto says, should do fine with the properly placed Ethos speakers.


Joel

 

[edwinr]

Thanks, Roberto. I am confident the Ethos will plumb unheard of depth, but I am unsure as to whether the REL T2 sub will improve the sound. The Ethos goes very low and the T2 is rated down to 26Hz (not sure of the dB rolloff), which is not far off where the Ethos seems to let go. As you have said before Roberto, adding a subwoofer could interfere with the bass reproduction of the Ethos, so I don't want to just add add more bass.

jmschnur, now that the Ethos is coming, I have decided to give up my experiment with 5.1 surround. I am going back to a pure 2 channel system for home theatre and music. So I am only going to keep the sub if it's worthwhile. From the comments in this thread and others about the Ethos, I am forming the view that I will have to purchase a more upmarket sub (either REL or ML) that has a much lower frequency response otherwise I might corrupt the good sound of the Ethos. The money I get from selling my receiver, sub and my FX2 surround speakers, I can sink into my 2 channel system for maybe better cables, a better 2 channel amplifier and some more cd's.

That's my plan anyway...

 

[roberto]

Just keep in mind that I am always thinking in music reproduction, not a HT. As you do know, the frequency response of the Ethos is very low. Just tell me how many instruments go below their specifications. Remember that still below 30Hz the Ethos are responding. Quality bass is the clue, not quantity. If you are going to use your Ethos in a 5.1 configuration, the sub is a most!. For Stereo music reproduction, I think that you can live with their bass response and be very happy with them! 8" woofer is very fast. You should see the magnet of the woofer of the Ethos. You will be amazed. Big size! Long extended throat, and aluminium cone. Their response at 34Hz means +-3dB but at 25Hz you might be at -5 0r 6dB, still getting very low frequency response. Trust your ear, you will see what I am trying to state. On a Steinway big piano, the lower note is an A (27.5Hz) , and the instrument itself has difficult to reproduce such lower note...so you do not find many works with this A note...Do not worry about the bass response, please believe me! Happy listening

 

[edwinr]

Thanks Roberto. I just spoke with the audio tech who is building my tube power amp (who is also a Martin Logan fan) and he said the same thing as you - more bass isn't necessarily better bass. So the REL sub will go as well. Although I might be able to use it elsewhere.

I'm getting excited now. Going back to a pure 2 channel system is like revisiting the Holy Grail. For some reason, when I switched to multi channel, I started to neglect my vinyl collection - now I feel like kick starting my turntable again.

 

[LTD]

I too thought about a Sub to complement my Ethos but as roberto said - the Ethos has a deep extended bass. But honestly, before I buy a sub, I would get the Montis with ther 10" woofers .

 

[roberto]

Hola chicos!...Montis belong to other leagues. It plays the music, effortless and the bass is awesome!. To my ears, Montis is the Martin Logan Speakers. Of course, the Summits X and the CLXs are more expensive and also supposed to be much better, but, my ears are very happy and totally fulfilled. I do not need any more, specially here in Costa Rica, where the rooms are very small. Montis is one of the best designed product of all Martin Logan line, since the beginning. The blend of the woofer to the panel is perfect. I can not tell it. I do like that a lot. The bass is robust and detail. Very, very deep. Better than the Ethos. But again, The Ethos has the Martin Logan magic too. If my room is not too big, 3K in difference is a lot! And I would consider this, because I could buy a lot of music with 3K.

LTD, you have an Ethos, please tell us what do you think about them regarding the bass. Do you think that you do need more bass in your room, in a stereo system? As I said, if you are going to have the Ethos for a HT, you need a sub. Happy listening!

 

[edwinr]

The Montis wold be my ideal choice if I had the dollars. There's no doubt that Martin Logan has done something very special with these speakers.

 

[Nielsen]

It all depends on your room, listening position etc. You cant just trust a speakers specs and say it goes plenty deep, in some rooms and with some placement issues you wont even hear low bass, except if you position yourself in the corner of the room.
Whether or not you have a good room is not easy to say, you could post some pictures, or put your room dimensions in a room node calculator to see where you might have problems.
In my old room I had good deep response, in my new bigger room I dont have bass at all so I bought an REL T3.
Even very expensive speakers can improve with a good subwoofer, the trick is that it shouldnt be heard, and the REL has an advantage over the plain subs in the crossover, normally the crossover only goes down to 40 or 50 hz which is too high for many good speakers, with your REL you can dial it down to 25 hz.
You wonder whether you need the REL or not? Only one way to find out, try.

 

[edwinr]

Thanks, Nielson. Rooms have such a big impact on sound. That's why we should buy the right tool for the job i.e. bigger room = bigger speakers! There may be a development on the Ethos front. I'm looking at my finances - I'm doing everything I can to make the Montis affordable. If I sell or trade some of my other gear...

 

[jmschnur]

If optimal imaging of the Ethos is bad for bass ( room modes etc) , one or two subs properly placed can help a lot.


Joel