I have Paradigm Atoms and the matching center channel, and a Mirage 8" sub. The Mirage sub is nice, and sounds excellent at low/moderate levels. But my viewing room is large and open to the kitchen and the sub just can't move enough air at louder listening levels. So I'm looking to kick it up a notch or two, but still would like as compact a sub as possible. Perhaps a REL, or Velodyne SPL series. The PSB subsonic6i also might be in the running. I'm more concerned with accuracy and quickness than being able to vibrate the neighbors house as well as mine. The room is about 12x25 and the kitchen is about 10x10 - 9 foot ceilings throughout. Would like to stick to a 1K or so price ceiling.

Delivers LFE like nothing else under $1k. Sent a looping signal from 110Hz going down to 25Hz through the Grotto and many others in the same price range. The Grotto was the only to hold onto the the ful range of sound accurately and without bottoming out. Boominess is minimal and the tighness of a fly's ass.
Try this with 'Das Boot'. Nice.<ul><li><a href="http://www.martinlogan.com/grotto_speaker.html">Grotto</a></li></ul>

<ul><li><a href="http://www.svsubwoofers.com">http://www.svsubwoofers.com</a</li></ul>

The recommendations aren't very exciting either;
"Better than my old box."
High praise indeed.

"This sounds better than many of the local theatres...."
So does my portable cassette radio.

They may actually be decent subs, buying one without an audition is like pissing into the wind.

<a href="http://www.hsuresearch.com/products/">link</a>

<ul><li><a href="http://www.velodyne.com/velodyne/products/product.aspx?ID=6&amp;sid=351r844x">Velodyne HGS</a></li></ul>

I have a Strata...which is well over the $1K budget. It's sufficient for small and medium sized rooms, but beyond that, you have to step up to a larger model (more $$$). Accuracy and quickness are certainly there. I have them mated with a pair of Proac 1SC's, and it blends in as nicely as I could hope for a sub.

<ul><li><a href="http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfm1.html#">LFM-1</a></li></ul>

<ul><li><a href="http://www.hsuresearch.com">http://www.hsuresearch.com</a</li></ul>

I love those ProAc 1SC's. What's in the rest of your set-up? I very nearly bought a pair about ten years ago. Superbly musical, masses of detail. They sing like a European blackbird. Great speaker.

I have one.

Now I no longer find myself listening to 2 channel anymore, so it's primarily an HT system (proacs are kinda like a caged European blackbird now). So the integrated amp and the Arcam CD player have long since been removed from the system.

The preamp/processor is a Theta Casanova. DVD is a Sony DVPS7000 (whatever the first one was), the amp is a Classe CAV75 with the 5th and 6th channels bridged for the center (also Proac). And as mentioned, the REL Strata II. In the back are an old pair of cambridge soundworks surrounds. It's a quality system built for a small HT room. I've got an Optoma H30 in the other room that's waiting to be integrated into this HT (I skimped on the PJ...technology is still marching too fast in that area, so I'm not dumping $5K into something I can get for 1/2 that price next year).

I stopped building this system about 5 years ago, and I've been very happy with it since then. Haven't seen the need to dump more money into equipment. I'm am a little tempted to get a nice plasma instead of the PJ, but we'll see what happens down the road.

<img src="http://home.austin.rr.com/hwj/ht/sub.jpg">

It's a try-it buy-it program. What's the harm?

They stand behind their warranty too. My son somehow managed to smoke the driver (can we say party?) and SVS sent a new (and improved model) driver no questions asked. Their only concern was if I used an SPL meter to set it up. After I assured them I had indeed used an SPL meter and the Avia guide to setup the entire system, they authorized the repair.

It's been even better since - pushed to the limits and this thing won't even bottom out. I've heard most of the $1k-$3k subs out there and IMHO the SVS performs as well or better than any of them.

have really lousey amplifiers built-in. Very few models are an exception. It's mainly because very few subs are set-up properly. Most users have their sub far too loud to obtain a seamless transition from where their speakers bottom-out to where the sub kicks-in. Manufacturers know this and that's why cheap amps and drive units are what you find in most subs.
Posistioning is critical with subs too. There only two or three places in the average room where the sub actually can perform to it's maximum. Sticking it in the corner isn't automatically the best place for it - more often than not it'll cause the sub to be overly boomy.
SVS say little to suggest their sub is an exceptional piece, hence my synicism.

Did it ever occur to you that I might know what I'm doing and I auditioned the sub at various points in the room and I've placed it where it sounds best to me?

it looks so nice tucked in there...almost as if an interior decorator put it there!

we carry velodyne. I think they are awsome! I would strongly recomend them. they have beautiful sound and look great as well

Put it in the middle of the two rooms and the other by your TV.