Is JL best sub for the money?

The Zu subwoofer review is from a Wes Marshall, who uses ATC SCM50 speakers. If Zu integrates with ATC then it is indeed a "musical" type sub rather than a HT type. ATC bass is thin, precise and tight. ATC make a large 15" subwoofer but it is ugly compared to the Zu and more expensive.

I second Bob Reynolds: You basically have 66% of a pair of 2Wqs already inside the Quatros. Although the JL is a very impressive performer, I find that my 2Wq subwoofers work very well in two corners of my room with no EQ or bass traps. They blend seemlessly with my mains (previously Vandys, now a different brand). Also, they are extremely good at being invisible; they do not add bass where there is none, but cleanly and tightly deliver it when there is bass in the source material. And when they deliver that bass, it really sounds as if it is coming from your mains. YMMV, of course.

Hate to burst the JL bubble but many have sold off their JL's (some in multiples) after they experienced Mark Seaton's Submersive subs. I have a Submersive and just a happy customer with no affiliation with company. However, I do not have direct experience with JL. Different strokes for different strokes I guess. Louder, Deeper, less distortion, equally as musical are what I heard from those who tried both. Do a search and find out.

As a F112 owner I would suggest that the JL subs are fantastic and surely in the conversation of whats best. As for best for the money, I would guess no. THe bang for buck ratio is a non-linear one and the last 10% in performance costs 50% more money. Also I think the user needs to distinguish between HT and music. Mine is setup for HT where it shakes my house and is great. In a 2.1 music setup I think this results in a bit of boomyness. I am OK with this to get the theater the way I want it. I have tried it optimized for 2.1 and it was great, best I found.

so worth the money for HT - perhaps a bit expensive

worth it for 2.1 - I think maybe yes.

I've auditioned the better part of the JL line pretty extensively and - if carefully set-up - there's little doubt in my mind that they're terrific, probably among the best out there for most applications, music or HT. However, these products aren't designed for max value. They're luxury goods with beautifullly finished, compact cabinets.

If big, ugly (or at least, less pretty) cabinets are okay, you can get most of the performance for substantially less money. I use 12" Rythmiks which are about half the cost of the JL 12". They're bigger and won't hang with JL below 30hz or so, but for my music collection, they're awfully good performers. The SVS also appear to offer great value and will go very low in frequency.

Normally, I'd say that any of these will be between "enough" and "overkill" for music, but I'd say that about subwoofer-less Quattros, too.

Good Luck

Marty