Vandersteen Sub woofers v Rythmik Subs


I really love the idea of the Vandersteen Subs where they are connected with the mains via extra speaker cable off right and left channels off the main amplifier, which is supposed to provide better bass transition from the mains while keeping the signature from the main amplifier. My question is with Vandersteen coming out with the SUB THREE and the price going significantly higher, I was wondering if there are other subs for less that you could integrate in the same way. (Most subs seem to rely on the line level input which is just a sub-woofer RCA going from the pre-amp to the amp on the sub). Can this same Vandersteen set-up be achieved with other subs?
I picked Rythmik since they are known (in the home theater community anyway) for being one of the best bang for the buck subs and the most "musical" of the bunch. (between Hsu, SVS, PSA).
And could I possibly achieve even greater sub-woofer nirvana since I could get an 18" for around $1500? Vandies only have 3 eight inchers.

I am a Vandersteen fanboy and I would like to support RV whenever I can, but don’t know much about my other sub-woofer options so looking for some feedback. Doesn’t even have to be related to Rythmik necessarily. If you know of other subs that can integrate the same way I want to know about it!

Thanks
bstatmeister
" @noble100 and others interested in room acoustics: which other fora are you active in?

I'm interested in discussing and posting some measurements (which Agon doesn't allow) and would live to engage others who share that interest."

Hi lewinskih01,

     Sorry about the late reply.  I responded earlier to your question but just realized my post was removed, probably by the moderator due to negative references to our president I threw into my response.
     The other forums I would recommend to you are Audio Circle and  DIY Audio.  I learned a lot on these sites at separate times in the past when I wanted to learn more about class D amps and in-room bass response.  I consider both of these sites to be more concerned with empirical data and a scientific approach than the generally more opinion based discussions on this site. 
      Doing a Google search on "home audio room acoustics" would likely also be useful. 

Cheers!
  Tim
As an audio fan and sound engineer/musician (over 5 decades and counting) there's a lot of practical info in my feeble brain, and I never take for granted where I place my mains or subs, so there's that. I've heard the "put the sub at the listening spot" thing before, and I've never had cables long enough to try that. I adjust these things a little anyway (mostly for level which is source dependent). Works for me. My new thing of being able to move the Q150e front firing sub is a revelation...I just slide it around within it's cable limits to tune it to whatever I am listening to, the other downfiring sub stays put.
@noble100 

Hey Tim!
This Horacio, the Brit from Argentina!!! Hahaha. Fortunately I got to see your post early on, but had not had the time to reply. I'll keep away from political remarks to circumvent censorship.

OK, I'll say forums :-)
I'm very often at DIYaudio, a lot more than here these days. Indeed, there are several forums where room acoustics are discussed. I worked on room acoustics before and I'm getting ready to take it to the next level. Another level of magnitude vs other topics often discussed. It's unusual to come across people who also study it - hence my question.

Cheers mate!
Horacio
Sorry I'm late to the party, lol.  Haven't been on as much as I recover from surgery etc.. still.  I'm a Quatro owner and went that route because I needed the bass EQ.  I'm sure Tomic and others have gone over the V advantage of the Sub amps taking on the sonic signature of any main amp it works with.  The cross over also allows the main amps to only have to process 100hz and up, so that really frees them up to sound even better than they normally would.  Once I installed the Quatro's I noticed my Ayre AX5/20 sounded noticeably better as it was more relaxed and much more dynamic.  That was a huge issue for me and it was an extra benefit for me.  This is a huge reason I love his subs, even the ones without the EQ like the new ones do.

I know this gets discussed a lot, but it needs to be.  I also like the 3 8" woofers for their speed.  I have heard the 2wq's a lot and feel they go plenty deep in a room that can handle it.  Most rooms can't handle ultra powerful sub bass.  Standing waves and other excited room nodes (around 50hz) really screw up the sound.  Like Wolf and others, I dislike all the high end DSD I've listened to.  

I do recommend 2 subs no matter what you go with.  The eq V subs are going to most easily fit into any room.  That's why I upgraded to the Quatro from my beloved Treo's.  Never looked back.
Thanks for sharing.  I do love my Quatro upgraded from the Treo. Just smoothing out the bass has helped teh sound tremendously.  I have heard a substantial upgrade in the sound of my amp now that it doesn't have to do any heavy lifting below 100hz.  

I auditioned most things under the sun and didn't like the speakers that used DSP as I always heard it unlike the analog approach Vandersteen is still using.