You are certainly right in that there is always room for improvement.
The question is, where does it stop?
Value judgement of anything in audio will be highly personal - I imagine this statement might resonate with many audio enthusiasts.
Some people might be happy with a cheap BT speaker, while others won't be happy until they build a dedicated, acoustically treated and soundproofed listening room with soffit-mounted loudspeakers.
There's probably no single point on that spectrum which is universally 'right' for everyone.
So your question can't be answered conclusively - I can only say that bass management can effectively address very real, measurable issues with very audible consequences. It is up to every person to decide for themselves if that makes it worth it (for them) or not.
Placing one or (as you suggest) multiple subs in a living room is a major intrusion unless you live in a castle-like hall.
Just to clarify that I didn't mean to suggest everyone should be using multiple subs, and I apologize if it came out that way!
Multiple subs are a good solution if there is a need to get a consistent bass response across multiple listening positions over a wider area.
For a single listening position a single (well-placed and integrated) sub is usually enough. There will be some degradation at other seats, but if the seats are not too far from one another I imagine most people would be happy.
Recently I've tried to summarize some common acoustical issues in residential rooms, as well as ways to address them, in
this post - perhaps some will find it useful.
Power does help, even if you only use a fraction of it 95% of the time.
If that 5% of the time you do need the extra power, then of course it helps!
If one
never needs the extra power, however, then a lower powered amplifier would work just as well.
I should have said, they seem to regulate themselves down. I can‘t measure it, I can‘t prove it.
My statement is based on the following.
I have run the Amp Ultra at 100% volume. As of about 88% there was no further increase in volume. I didn‘t hear any clipping. In fact the sound didn‘t change at all going further up.
During normal listening, especially movies, there were low bass effects with my new amp that didn‘t come out or were mushed with the Amp Ultra. Those movies are DVD rips I have, so this was repeatable and not a random experience.
To which other conclusion should I have come?
Well based on what you describe it seems to me you simply needed a more powerful amp.
Note also that with the WiiM Amp Ultra the level increases by only about 3dB going from 90% to 100% (see the "
output volume curve" section in
this post) - which really isn't that much louder subjectively, so I'm not that surprised to hear there wasn't very much perceived difference in loudness going from 88%-100%. The WiiM volume step size is also not consistent across its range, as shown by
@Nanook in
this post.
That being said, with my speakers and in my environment I'd never dare push the Amp Ultra over about 60% volume - I'm sure my neighbours would call the police on me if I tried!
