Hi Jeff
I have a bunch of subs and a couple of opinions, for what they're worth. Except for the SVS 39-20, which is the size of a large garbage can, much taller though, I got great deals on one and all. The SVS is the most awesome performer, tight, musical capable of true low frequency sonic violence. As to the rest -
Klipsch LF10 - 1640 watt 10" with 2 10" passive radiators. Tight, musical, incredible bass performance.
Dahlquist PDQ 1500, 15" downward firing gem. I picked one of these up from ubid back when they had great deals for about $100. Awesome performance, for the money, a total joke. If you can find one, grab it.
Velodyne CHT100 - 10" front firing sub. Very musical, very tight, very powerful. Very nice.
Velodyne CHT80 - 8" front firing sub. Very musical, integrates beautifully with M22s or M3s.
Kenwood SW300. I blew the 10" front firing driver in this modest sub to smithereens watching the Dreamworks version of the Time Machine. Picked up a Dayton II 10" driver from partsexpress. So much better than new it's also an overperforming joke.
Vance Dickason Titanic 10" subwoofer kit from partsexpress.com. Goes very low, but for some reason does not integrate as well as the Velodynes which stood in the same spot. Very powerful, maybe better for HT than stereo.
I use twin subs in 2 of my HT systems. The Klipsch and Dahlquist work together beautifully. The SVS and 10" Velodyne also work together wonderfully, these are driven by the stereo sub outputs from an Outlaw ICBM-1 bass management unit.
In my opinion, the best subs disappear (stereo subs). The bass feels like it just fills the room. The office system twin subs produce bass which appears to be a bit more localized - sort of sounds like the bass is coming from the front soundstage. The Titanic's bass appears to be coming from the subwoofer and draws a bit too much attention to itself.
Looking back at the list of subs above, I think they're listed pretty much in descending order of quality.
Good luck Jeff! Enjoy your Axioms. Enjoy the music.
