Is there a better sub than the Aerial SW12?

I use a stereo pair of Vandersteen 2Wqs. They use a downward firing, slot loaded set-up in a sealed cabinet, crossed over at 80 Hz. They are very reasonable--you can easily get two for the price (or less) of one these supersubs. The design avoids or minimizes many room and blending problems and uses phase coherent, passive crossovers, either XLR or RCA.
Good luck,
Jeffrey

My subs! Four adire tumults,four Adcom 555mkII's ( bridged mono ).A behringer 1124p parametric eq. I can get about 125db at 20hz.I had to be outside of the room.I have never heard bass like this.The Cabinets house two drivers in each, separate sub enclosures.They are two inch MDF ALL sides including the divider.Probably close to 350lbs. each. DIY RULES!

How about those top model (even the mid level Storm) REL Subs... Are you kidding me... Excellent Subwoofers that do not go boom boom boom.

I was very impressed with the Thiel SW1 in the dealer showroom, but my room has major "bass-suck" issues. Both the dealer and Shari from Thiel suggested that I might want to consider something in the Velodyne DD series (for my room, that is), and I somewhat reluctantly auditioned a DD-12. I was blown away. I know have a DD-12 in my system (Thiel CS3.6 mains), and it has amazed me. The hype in the Stereophile review is well-earned. For just over $2k, the DD-12 is a bargain, in my book.

Still, if I had the space and the necessary WAF for the big Genelec...

June Stereophile has the Velodyne DD in it where reviewer say's first "super sub" (here the big 18" flagship variant) that lives up to it's hype and that on screen set up (you could bring a TV in just to set it up combined with electronic set up is stste of the art at $5K and blended effortlessly with his Quad 989's.Problem that many subs have had with fats panel or elctrostatic speakers have been their speed.Some of the better subs for music as opposed to HT where SPL or "Boom in the room" is the desired effect have been multi driver designs like the REL subs imported by sumiko.Only few large driver subs like the Revel which is a good performer for $3K can move fast enough to give proper pitch definition and not produce nasty artifacts you don't want.It will be interesting to see what those two companies come up with.Since they make electrostatics the Martin Logan Descent might be worth checking out.But after reading that Stereophile article I wnt to see aht the 15" Velodyne has going for it (or has left out of it) at $2500.P.S> for freinds looking to get some bottom end on the cheap a new or used Vandersteen can't be beat.Not the lowest and you can't expoect the world for $1250 but it uses the multi driver approach and a crossover that works from the main amps main posts ans thus reacts to the entire wanveform.Incredibly good performance for the buck.Also even though you can't localize stereo versus mono below 150hrz having two versus one depending on the usb and set up can make a huge difference and often is worth it.Depending one might be better off getting two subs instead of one.Like in the Revel hi end system there was a modest priced company that advertised on Audiongon with boxes that had short profiles and could ordered with or without amps with the idea that you could get without and an external amp/x-over box and add second sub latter and it had two levels or performance.can't remember name (three letter tag of some sort) and got good reviwes and best three box system came in at $2K or so.
Chazzbo

Don't laugh--read the latest issues of 'Stereophile Ultimate AV', the replacement for 'S...Guide to Home Theater'. Someone is doing a survey of high-end SWs and so far rates the Genelec 4-driver model as the best...in extention, power, sub-20Hz power, definition, etc. It uses 4 12" drivers and 4 separate amps. Here 'tis http://www.genelec.com/ht/products/hts6/hts6.php. Compared with a pair of SW12s, the Genelec appears to be a bargain.

The two subs costing more money than the Aerial SW12 that received "recommended" ratings by TAS are the Audio Physiks Minos ($5k) and the Wilson Audio (can't remember the model name, but it retails for $10k).

Hi, there was a thread about the new Thiel Subs.
Also the new Velodyne DD sub is getting rave reviews.
Here's the thread.
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1089925705&read&keyw&zzthiel