BEST SUB FOR MUSIC

I have to agree with the above posts and repeat dbw1 great words. Rel! Rel! Rel! If it wasnt for Rel I wouldnt have a subwoofer. I was so pleased with mine that I went out and bought a second one.

There are many reasons for their superioty. First, and most importantly to me, is their intergration. They intergrate so well with your original system that it will sound like the bass is coming form your speakers. Its the only sub I have ever heard that I thought was truly non directional.

Then there is the quality. Top notch. Fast, punchy and not boomy. The bass is so clear that it will actaully increase imaging and stereo seperation. You will hear detail and nuences never heard before and you will feel an uncontrollable urge to play all you old favorite cd's.

I have found that even for movies nothing is better. It may not move as much air as some of the foward firing subs but the added realism of detail makes it so much more involving.

A Rel is something that will stay in your system for a long long time to come. When you do upgrade it will only ever be for a better Rel.

Like a lot of people have said, REL ST. I use a Strata III but your room will probably want something bigger. I would highly recommend a III series over a II.

The Rel subs are nice well built subs, but not as good for music as the Vandersteen 2Wq. Because the Rel is like every other sub in the world - other than the Vandersteen - the way it gets hooked into your system is half the problem. The Rel and all others give you a line level connection that comes from your preamp. This means that the sub will only be augmenting the bass below where your speakers stop working. This doesn't help free your main speakers from any burden of making deep bass, nor does it relieve your power amp from any burden in the bass. The Vandersteen system will roll off your mains before the power amp making both perform much better than they do full range. Vandersteen does this with an unobtrusive 1st order crossover that consists of nothing more than a capacitor. Also, the Vandersteen sub gets its signal from you power amp and will take on the sound character of your amp which allows the sub to blend much more seemlessly than any other sub. Sorry Rel.

The Rel also hooks directly to your amplifier and benifits from this design as well.

Just want to put in another vote for the RELs. Probably a Stadium 3 used or Storm 3 new. With your equipment and budget I can't think of anything close. They are very adaptable and man are they fast. I am reticent to say don't look any further, because then you never learn about new things. I would say that you really should listen to both of these before buying a sub. You'll figure it out yourself. Happy listening

Todd