Martin Logan Aerius with subwoofer ?????

i would try a pair of vmps' subs - as large as yer room will take, & be sure ya get all the awailable options. use marchand's deluxe version of their xm-9 crossover; its flexibility in plugging in different x-over points, 24db/octave slopes, separate wolume pots for low pass, hi-pass, *and* a volume pot for the x-over frequency, make this an excellent tool for matching to different speakers. marchand also sells this x-over w/a 48db/octave slope, if yer really worried about matching-up to electrostatics. i got the whole package - 2 new largeer subs, a new x-over, & a pair of adcom gfa-555's, & the whole ting cost me only ~$2200... ewe can save by using a pair of their original or smaller subs, & getting one amp, which should really be all ya need, considering that these subs are pretty efficient, and operate at 4 ohms... less distortion, better electronics, & more flexible than all but the most expensive powered subs, & those only equal, not surpass the vmps, imho...

doug

hi jim,

vmps are rarely found on the used market, but they're really inexpensive used - partly, in the case of the larger sub, that at 140lbs & >8cu/ft, it's expensive to ship, i'm sure. there was one on ebay recently that got no bids at a starting price of $275, i tink. ya mite be able to find it in the completed auctions page if ya search vmps on ebay. but, check some dealers for pricing - compared to the powered subs on the market, these are a great deal even bought brand-gnu, considering shipping is included in the price! :>)also, i highly recommend getting all the awailable upgrades

i am a firm believer in using a pair, set-up in proper stereo configuration on the outside of the monitors, but, if ya gotta do yust one, then in the middle is the best place, but it would be preferable in the near-field - i.e.: as a coffee-table. (ackshully, i believe that near-field placement would be best for a pair, too - like end-tables, but my current set-up precludes wires running across the middle of my room.) make sure ya cross 'em over wery low, w/a slope of at least 24db/octave especially if yer only gonna run one sub. that adcom, which puts out 325w into 4 ohms, would do fine w/a pair of subs, but i wanted to get the amps closer to the subs, so i run a pair bridged. at ~$400 used, these make great sub amps! ;~)

good luck, doug

ps - check out vmps' www - brian cheney, the owner, has lotsa inneresting stuff to say about his view of speaker design & sub design.

hi jim,

last nite, i listened (again!) to nusrat fateh ali khan & michael brook - "night song" this cd has *amazing* low-frequency info, & believe me, bass frequencies *can* be directional! :>) if ya have the room, definitely try to go for a pair of subs. there are many other recordings i have that have directional bass, as well.

holly hippodaze, doug

jim, the kinergetics subs - sw8000's i tink were the name of their top-model, would be excellent, but even if ya find a pair used, they're still expensive. as i recall, they had five 10" drivers per side. melos recommended them to me as a good mate for the newform research speakers i'm considering, but when i reminded them that i had my pair of vmps', they said i should be all right as-is,... ;~)

i woodn't be worried about using a solid-state amp w/subs when using tubes on top - wood prolly ackshully be a good thing, considering ya want the subs to be as fast as possible to keep up w/the 'stats.

i tink it inneresting yure using the cls - i strongly considered getting a pair, but i was turned-off when even m-l told me 93 db was the max i'd get outta them, even if crossed-over to subs at 100hz, which is ackshully higher than i'd like to go. for most music, i'd be ok w/93 db max, but every now-n-again, i like raucous music! :>) that's why i'm considering newform research electrostats - they're more efficient, go louder, and seem to be less sensitive to room-placement than the cls' - they're mono-poles, no sound from the back of 'em. but waf is *really* a problem w/these - i dunno if even *i* will be able to put up w/the way they look! :>) i suggest ewe czech out their www, as well as the reviews (on the r645) on audioreview. more than most of the reviews there, it's impressive what the users ancillary equipment is, & other speakers considered. one guy is using the $17k c-j art preamp, so i don't tink bargain-price was the attraction! these things retail for ~$2250, which ain't bad if they really live up to their claims.

jim, w/eclectic musical tastes, ya need one-size-fits-all speakers! :>) i've heard the cls' and absolutely love what they do well, but, as ya say, some of the stuff yust ain't there, on some music. i thought that subs wood be the cure, but according to m-l, which i corresponded w/about it - it's only a partial cure - yust not enuff dynamics. they suggested the requests, but i'm really not too keen on the other m-l stuff. perhaps the gnu prodigy wood work, but a bit outta my budget! thus, the investigation of the newforms. w/a 30-day in-home trial, i'd only be out shipping if they're not *it*...meantime, the meret re's are quite nice. le'see, today was some buena-vista social club, king sonny ade, neil young unplugged, keith jarrett/jan garbarek, lightnin' hopkins/sonny terry, & some rasta-style christmas music, as well as a bit of jazz-blues x-mas stuff from the (relatively) local non-commercial excellent jazz/blues/latin/caribbean radio station i send money to... now, enjoy that *other* italian symphony on the way to get the osso-bucco! :>)

holly hippodaze

doug

ps - i mite be mistaken, but i believe the sw800's are a smaller (3-driver?) less expensive wersion of the sw8000's...