Hey Doug, you beat me to the punch. I would suggest that the SW800's are probably just about as good as other forward firing, multi-driver subs for most speaker applications -- can't say for sure since I haven't heard them outside of the CLS application. I think this general design (used by VMPS, Genesis, Infinity and others) makes for faster, more articulate sound than single-driver, downward firing subs. Also, as Doug pointed out, passive subs allow for far more flexibility in amp and crossover selection and quality. Front firing subs benefit from positioning along side of, rather than behind, speakers (critical with dipoles and bipoles). What really makes these subs excell with CLS's is the crossover and Compusound software that was designed specifically for the speaker, and the fact that they are line sources. So, yeah, these are the best subs on the planet for CLS's. Although software modifications were once available for other speakers, this really is a dedicated sub system for the CLS. Given their scarcity and sometimes unreasonable asking prices, I would recommend other similar designs in non-CLS applications. I also strongly recommend getting behind the wheel of an Alfa and staying on the throttle for different but equally satisfying music ;-)
