Can't really help you with a recommendation, but, apparently Essex used to make stuff for REL (and Rega among others) before they branched out with products under their own name.

I appreciate your response. Like I said, my hi-fi shop has a good reputation, so it's unlikely they will carry junk. I will audition it some more. In all fairness, I had never heard of Ruark either, yet I fell in love with a set of their speakers.

Let me try a different tact. The Essex is forward firing and the sub I have now (Sound Dynamics THS-3000) is downward firing. I like the sound I get from it, however the driver in it is not heavy duty and will occasionally bottom out on some material I listen to now, such as Laurie Anderson's "Life on A String" CD. I'm wanting a more capable sub, and one that will most likely give me better sound that what I'm liking now.

My concern is forward vs downward firing. Any opinions on that. Corner placement or against the wall in a space created by a bay window are my best options for placement.

Deeje,

Welcome to the forum. There is a lot that goes in to determining if a particular sub would work well in your enviroment. I would suggest you post your question HERE. The folks there have a wealth of sub related knowledge. Don't let the name fool you, there are many high end two channel enthusiasts there as well. They are also very knowledgeable in subwoofer equalization, as one of the sites founders is the author of the software program "Room EQ Wizard" (REW).

RG

Thanks for the reply, rgibran. I will give your link many thorough visits.