Jeff, if you think the ARO will get you 92% of performance the Fathoms are capable of, you are in for a big surprise. Don't be lazy, get your test CD out, get the SPL meter or better yet a spectrum analyzer and start blending and tweaking them in with your speakers. It takes some effort to get them completely dialed in but you have all you need built into them.
In my own system, I also had an active crossover to dial in, besides the x-over points, I also had slopes to play around with to remove some bass from my Sonus Faber GM's to eliminate the last ounce of intermodulation distortion and free the speaker from the first 100Hz of bass as well as getting a
seamless integration. Yes, the Fathoms are that good, you can run them all the way up to 100Hz. They are fast, articulate, powerful and are capable of very musical bass.
They have kept up with my 6" midbass drivers and they will keep up with your panels as well. Try that with other subs.
Once dialed in, there is no way anyone can tell you are running subs in your system if you hide them. But the bass will shake the foundation of the house when a recording calls for it. Many subs can achieve deep bass but none have achieved the level of integration and the disappearing act as well as the control, articulation, definition and more importantly, speeeed, at least none that I have heard so far. No wonder they have won so many awards and high praises.
