Are subs essential in a small studio?

[Phil]

Hi Guys,
I'm about to invest a little more in my home studio set up. I have a great pair of Adam A7x's which are perfect for the size of the room. My first thought was to add a sub7 so i can better hear the full range of frequencies in my mixes.  My music (The Inventors of Aircraft- ambient, electronic etc.) while not bass heavy like a lot of beat based music it still has a lot going on in the lower frequencies - as most of you know, once you start pitching sounds down, stretching sounds etc the lower frequencies quickly fill and sometimes i can only hear this lower end on headphones and not so much on the A7x's. My first thought was subs, but reading around a bit i'm wondering if this isn't the solution and my money might be better spent on more acoustic treatment for the room. I wanted to get the opinion of people making similar music to me- does anyone think subs are essential? will they help me to hear my mixes more clearly? thanks, Phil

[taylordeupree]

if you're working in an untreated room, a sub is about the worst thing you could do for your mixing. treat the room, LOTS of bass trapping, and then get a sub. even if you're not doing big, bassy, beaty music, a sub will let you know what's going on down there and is a good pair with the A7s, which don't have a lot of bass, but are otherwise excellent monitors.

but..  definitely definitely treat the room first or you'll be asking for trouble..

[Phil]

thanks for the advice. I will do just that. the more i've read up on the subject the more of a priority treating the room has become. cheers