Subwoofer Newbie Looking for Recommendations

I recently added a pair of Vandersteen 2Wq subwoofers, along with the MH-5P battery-biased crossovers, into my system that includes Magnepan 3.7 panels.

The difference was nothing short of astounding.

The Vandersteens do blend seamlessly; offloading the amp really opened the amp's capabilities; and the adjustable Q helps you dial in just the right amount of bass, ranging from very tight and controlled, to loose and thumpy. (Tight and controlled, for me.)

Secretguy, what Gallos are you using?

Love my Gallos with my Maggies. Don't know why they're so overlooked.

(assuming there is no impedance matching issues)
when you hook up subs at line level from your tube pre amp
you will drag down the performance by loading your pre amp into a lower input Imp.
Speaker level as Bondmap suggested works best in my experience. like Rel and Vandersteen
The other advantage of the Vandersteen is their easily adjustable High Pass unloads the amp from the lowest frequencies which lowers the whole systems distortion dramatically improves transparency and clarity.
JohnnyR Vandersteen dealer

Yes, JL are fabulous and have to be the best out there. That's where my money will go.

Sorry, I didn't see this thread until today. I have heard Mag 20.1s paired with a pair of JL Fathom F212s. The sound was choherent and seamless. The sub was undetectable as a separate entity while providing strength, extension, and dynamics from 40 Hz down to 20 or slightly below.

JLs are crazy fast and linear over a broad frequency range. I'm not sure what your budget is, but JL's new E-series makes their subs more affordable than ever.

thx; i have gotten a number of dealer recommendations to try the big REL's, like their G-2

I have no direct experience, but I see you have no replies. Many panel speaker owners like Vandersteen 2Wq subs with their speakers. I do own these subs, and feel they are fast, extended and powerful.

Subwoofers offer some or all of the following connection options:

RCA sub-out from preamp to line-level RCA input on sub

Speaker-wire out from amp to speaker level inputs on sub

The Vandersteen uses a dedicated pair of speaker cables that attach to your amp speaker outputs along with the speaker cables to your mains. An in-line filter or crossover is inserted between the preamp output and the amp input (one for each channel).