High order crossovers

And the S-30 is a sweet amp

Perhaps we can all agree a difficult load is not the ideal

dbs is an Audioquest/Vandersteen joint patent to keep cable and capacitors formed ..
128 V on the Vandersteen amp, 72 V on AQ cables

single caps inserted are bad..so bypass them AND form both of them with DBS.....

but to be fair, probably why RV puts powered subs in his high end gear and also sells powered stand alone subs with a unique high power high pass system and filetrs for the main amp.
your results may vary.....
I stopped mucking about with kits and an FFT with a crossover cookbook in 1986.....I outsource that to a guy with ten patents, an autoclave, latest FFt and a chamber..... 

since 1977.......

with outstanding reliability...
IF you have a decent amp it is pretty difficult to blow up a pair of model 2
quarter million pair sold, so somebosys ear brain likes em...

again it is a system, plent of engineering goes into the custom scanspeak drivers, filters, cabinets, etc....

I happen to think trading a db or five of ultimate output for better quality sound is certainly smart, especially in w world of hyper affordable high power amplifiers.

can 6 db filter speakers damage hearing before breaking ? easy ...but is that your objective...

good advice, go listen to any top rated Vandersteen or Thiel or Dunlavey for that matter....they are all very sophisticated designs using top notch drivers, components and cabinets....the filter is hyper important...but the system, and system engineering matter....

btw a lot of the output in so called high efficiency designs is trash ( distortion ).... which the efficiency spec takes no note of.....