need help with a subwoofer

Too bad about your experience with the Rel dealer - does "not customer friendly" mean that he wouldn't let you listen to them? If he will, try to listen to the Strata & Storm. Personally I preferred the Storm but our ears may differ. You didn't indicate the size of your room but I assume it's not huge and that music is more important than HT. If so, you can't beat Rel imho.

Bought a VTF-2 (with latest crossover upgrades) based on reviews and trying to save a few bucks. Doesn't work in my setup - has a bit of an overhand which gets in the way (notes don't decay fast enough?) Yours for $375 plus shipping if you're interested.

As for wife factor, you can get the Rels with beautiful woodgrain finishes, for extra money. Or just let the wife drape them with her favorite fabric - won't affect the sound.

ACI Titan II

I had the same problem with a REL dealer I had access to (Tweeter, about 2.5 hours away). Not nice people. I called Sumiko to verify that I had to purchase from a local dealer and they said no. The long explanation was that dealers themselves didn't want to sell mail order to keep local business local but the neither Sumiko nor REL themselves demanded it. So if you still want a REL you just need to find a dealer willing to sell to you. They can call Sumiko and verify my info themselves. leo.

I don't have any experience with the REL, but I DID recently own a HSU TN-1225HO with the HSU 250 watt amp. I used it with a pair of Platinum Audio Solos. Not dissimilar to the Tylers inasmuch as the bass output was already quite good compared to other monitors - I just wanted that final half-octave as well. In addition, the room that I was using them in was quite large, so it was nice to augment the bass response and save a little amplifier power for my inefficient (84db) Platinums. The result was outstanding, fast, musical, articulate, deep, POWERFUL, bass that was quite easy to integrate. Best of all, from the wife acceptance perspective, is that the tube is easy to place (in my case, hidden behind an indoor water fountain completely hidden from view in the corner of the living room). The small footprint makes it very easy to hide. In addition, it can be laid on its' side and placed behind a couch. Try that with a big "box" subwoofer.

The only product that I can compare it to in my own "real-world" environment is the Velodyne ULD 15 which I borrowed from my father after I bought the HSU for a benchmark comparison. To my ears, the HSU is just as musical as the Velodyne. The only drawback is that the HSU only goes to 25hz versus 20hz for the Velodyne. But I don't listen to a lot of organ music, so it wasn't a big issue.

Hope this helps. Happy listening!

Blkadr is right. The Titan II LE is one phenominal sub. REL used to be my reference until I tried the Titan. Less money, higher output, better quality, and fantastic looks. One of the two best audio purchases I've ever made.