Sub for 2 channel music only setup

Agree with Stanwal and Kal on the REL. The REL is one of the only sub systems to use hi-level inputs from your main amp with no crossovers in the signal path of your main speakers. When set correctly, you only notice the presence of the sub when you turn it off - the extremely low bass disappears and the soundstage collapses. For best performance, it is critical to use one of Synergistic Research's Tesla Rel Spec cables for the hi-level connection.

Hevac 1 - I'm not challenging your opinion, only curious: Did you use SR REL Spec hi-level cables and good power cords on the Stadium III's? Makes a huge difference.

Agree, but a crossover that would not degrade the sound quality of a top-flight preamp would be VERY expensive and then there is the cost of the additional cabling...

Thanks for the reply, Hevac1. During the inital period with my Stadium III, I also noticed a very slight fatness (not sure that I would describe it as slowness exactly). Adding the supplied spikes improved this considerably. It makes me wonder why REL discourages the use of them in the manual. Setting the crossover at the lowest setting (22hz) and increasing the gain setting helped also (my main speakers do 25hz at minus 6db).

I find that the main benefit of the REL in my system is not primarily the bass extension, but the substantial improvement in the dimensionality of images, layering of the soundstage, and bloom of instrumental timbres, especially piano. I think this is a product of the REL "loading the room" with sub-bass frequencies. This would seem to require that it emits frequencies so low they are felt but not heard, which is what seems to bug you about the Stadium III. Does the Aerial SW-12 equal the REL in this respect?