Subwoofers

Wow, akg, that was a very thourough post. I hope the OP will take your advice, everything you said is true.
Zardozmike, as I said, I have the 2w subs. Using the M5-HP crossover, will seamlessly combine the subs with your speakers. After having been away from the hifi world for 30 years, it was truly revealing how a good sub can influence the sound of a pair of speaker. (As in, they weren't around, then).

Great article AKG! .... Everything comes at a price, and the price you pay with most subwoofers is that when you add them and their built-in amplifiers to your system, they don’t tend to blend or integrate well with the sound of your power amp and speakers. This is especially true if you own a tube amp, because the character of your amp is nothing like the character of the big solid-state amp that is built into most subwoofers. The result is that your system sounds split in half. You can hear where one part of the system leaves off (namely your amp and speakers) and where the other part takes over (the sub and its amp). This is a HUGE problem for audiophiles who aren’t willing to destroy their system’s coherence for additional power and bass extension. Fortunately, Vandersteen has the perfect solution for this problem that is, again, so simple, I wonder why nobody else thought of it first. His solution is to build a very powerful 300 watt amplifier that strictly provides the huge current needed to drive the subwoofer. You can think of this amplifier as only half of an amplifier; or just the power portion of an amplifier. The release of this power is controlled by the signal that is provided by your power amp. Vandersteen’s amplifier needs a voltage to modulate its current output, and what better place to get that voltage than from your main power amp? This way, your power amplifier is directly responsible for the sonic character of the deep bass coming from the subwoofer because it provides the necessary voltage signal. This voltage signal contains the unique and characteristic sound of your main power amplifier and insures that that character is maintained in the sound of the subwoofer itself. The beauty of it is that your amplifier is only providing a voltage reference and no actual current, so it is not taxed with the burden of “driving” the subwoofer in any way. As a matter of fact, your amplifier doesn’t even know that the sub is connected to it. The 2Wq’s potential is almost unlimited given that it will ratchet up its performance as you improve your power amp. Remember that you always want your subwoofer to sound just like your power amp. No better, no worse. NO DIFFERENT! 
This is exactly why I bought a REL? Funny this is a plug for Vandersteen. lol.

Matt M

Mattmiller....

as as prefaced in the article post, the points of reference in choosing was directed at differentiating quality-built contenders (plural... Emphasis added ) ...

Neither Vandersteen  nor REL rule the roost in every system , full stop. ....


ATC and Velodyne instantly come to mind as very fine kit if one can afford them.

The ATC SCM0.1/15ASL Sub  or ATC C6 perfectly fit all the key points in the article.... They share that top shelf of contenders  in terms of performance but they also cost north of $8000, albeit worth every bit of it.

Gee, an $8K  sub for a $1K speaker.
I think the OP might want something a little less expensive, even if they are worth every bit of it.