Thx for your thoughts Mojo, duckman & ihifi... my bud's sub is about 2' tall and about 8" wide, with what must be two 6" vertically stacked drivers.. the grill portion must be permanently attached... I haven't ever been able to get it off without fear of damaging it. Anyway the thing is over 12 yrs old. The bass seems more uniform over a wider range, and seems 'faster'. He uses that system for 95% movies.
My listening area is definitely more live than his... too live... which I think accounts for the 'quickness' I'm hearing at his place. I have bare walls right now behind the equipment and a couple feet behind the listening couch. On the right side is my picture window with vertical blinds (plastic, not cloth lined). I'm sure if I could figure out something to hang on the walls that would be both decorative and absorbant, it would help, but would it be enough? Again, I know corner treatments will give best results, but I can only apply them to 2 corners, and aesthetically it would disrupt the symmetrical look of the room... plus I ain't that handy.
So.. I'm not sure what to do. I've seen the SMS-1 on EBAY, there are 2 or 3 on there right now... but for the 100 bucks or so savings it might worth it to just buy from Outlaw, because I believe the 30-day return policy applies to SMS-1 as well (I've emailed them to verify). I've seen the SMS-1 guide on their site and it appears excellent and easy to follow.
Ah the joys of audio...
