Warren,
What an avid audiophile you are! I always enjoy reading your comments and learn a great deal. Concerning the Salons, they do perform as advertised,and sound great. But adding subs takes them to a new level. First I have eliminated the super low bass info by crossing the Subs and Salons at 80hz. This alone cleaned up the midrange and imaging quite spectacularly. Another benefit for using subs with any full range system is that it almost impossible to position your mains in the best position for bass, imaging, midrange, treble, etc. So this way I could use my Salons as the ultimate satellites, and place the Sub 30s extactly where they were needed to correct the mode problems in the room, something that apparently no amount of equalization can do by itself.
As a result, while my Salons or probably any well recognized floor stander sounded good, with proper sub placement the sound really reached another level maybe even several levels up. I marvel at what I was missing each time I listen to one of my favorite cuts.
I certainly didn't understand this myself until just recently when Gerry LeMay from QUEST helped me set the system up properly.
To me that is the fun of this hobby that there is always something new to learn and try.
Sgr