Thanks for all the feedback. Honestly i am content with the overall sonic picture of the 836v's. By fiddling with speaker placement I have managed to get, to my ear, a clear resonant bass that seems to capture the acoustic instrument sounds well ( this was the area where sound became fuller and more three dimensional by upgrading from the 816v).

I only became curious about subs because both gentlemen that i have purchase equipment from had them. Interestingly both had upgraded to Magnepans (1.6 and 3.7?).

I think I am going to live with my setup as is for now. That $500 will buy a lot of music.