Rel Subwoofer experiences

[marked sound]

In terms of experience:

I have a pair of Rel HT/1510 Predators in my 7.2 HT man cave; they’re connect via balanced XLR (they don’t have high level inputs). The speakers are all Adam Audio AX series active monitors. The 1510’s replaced a single Sunfire TSEQ12 which was just not enough for the 4400 cubic foot man cave; I moved that to the 2.1 system in the smaller living room space about half the man cave size, where it performs very well.

The only other subwoofer I have experience with is a sealed 12 inch M&K, I don’t recall the model. I was very pleased with the M&K performance but in the end handed it down to my son, who has it setup with a pair of Q-Acoustic floor standers.

In any case, the two Predators provide very palpable LFE effortlessly and the finest bass definition I’ve heard when configured in stereo mode for music. For all intents and purposes, it is virtually end game for me. I’ve had them in my system for a little more than a year now, and have simply been enjoying them almost daily. I’ve no desire at the moment to explore alternatives.

Interesting you mention your son because I have Q Acoustic floor standers. I have their flagship Concept 500s and I love them. I was specifically looking for anyone that has had expereince with Rel's high level integration. I guess I should have made that clear. I am glad you are happy with your subs though.

 

[Puddingbuks]

The speakers I am using ar the Q Acoustics Concept 500s, which test very well for distortion. I still might lean towards the Perlisten D15s sub though.

Check out the dali v 16 f in that price range.

Most important is to have at least two subs to even out room modes. You also need dsp to even the bass response as much as possible and to high pass the speakers - yes it is a big deal to shift the heavy lifting to the subs. And for true perfection you also need a lot of absorption material to lower reverb times.

 

[goat76]

Just for fun, I made a google search for the word ”musical” on both SVS and Rythmik’s homepages, and those brands use that same term for marketing purposes seemingly as much as REL. Other subwoofer manufacturers probably do it too.

SVS: https://www.google.com/search?q=site:https://www.svsound.com+"musical"&client=safari&hs=8gTp&sca_esv=f7e7e39cbdb7bf55&hl=sv-se&ei=ZkasaYutMN3MwPAP_vPziQ0&biw=1210&bih=706&ved=0ahUKEwiL-Pepj46TAxVdJhAIHf75PNEQ4dUDCBE&uact=5&oq=site:https://www.svsound.com+"musical"&gs_lp=Egxnd3Mtd2l6LXNlcnAiJnNpdGU6aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc3Zzb3VuZC5jb20gIm11c2ljYWwiSKAhUJcKWPUecAJ4AJABAJgBM6ABY6oBATK4AQPIAQD4AQGYAgCgAgCYAwCIBgGSBwCgB1qyBwC4BwDCBwDIBwCACAA&sclient=gws-wiz-serp

Rythmik: https://www.google.com/search?q=site:https://www.rythmikaudio.com+"musical"&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=sv-se&client=safari

 

[Daverich4]

I think that if you don't know how to integrate a subwoofer, and you are not willing to invest in the tools and learn how to use them, you are better off with no subwoofer at all. I have heard MANY subjectively dialled in subwoofers that sound horrible. The usual mistake is to turn the bass up too high. Even if it's not turned up too high, the lack of EQ means that certain bass notes drone on. And it's always obvious where the subwoofer is in the room.

At the very minimum, a sub with no DSP needs to be tuned with a microphone, but at best people are getting only half the performance they paid for, maybe even less. DSP is essential. If you don't have DSP, the sub is an expensive waste of money which will likely make a system sound worse instead of better.

You’ve been really helpful in answering some of my other posts regarding room measurements so I’m hoping you can give me a hand here. I’m looking into adding a pair of subwoofers as a means to correct low bass nulls in my room. I’m not looking to add more bass, just correct what I have. I’ve read a number of the posts here about setting up multiple subwoofers but I wonder if you could provide a link or two for how I can learn more about setting them up? I have a Umik1 and am learning how to use REW if that’s the direction I should be going in. Thanks.

 

[Keith_W]

I don't know of any links or any all-in-one resources. It has been my intention for some time to write a book about it, similar to my REW eBook. It's such a common question on ASR that I think it needs a book of its own. But in the meantime, maybe you can search for some OCA videos on Youtube on the DSP process.

 

[Daverich4]

I don't know of any links or any all-in-one resources. It has been my intention for some time to write a book about it, similar to my REW eBook. It's such a common question on ASR that I think it needs a book of its own. But in the meantime, maybe you can search for some OCA videos on Youtube on the DSP process.

Thanks, I have your eBooks which really have a lot of information in them. I appreciate the help you’ve given me so far.

 

[janbth]

… I’m looking into adding a pair of subwoofers as a means to correct low bass nulls in my room. I’m not looking to add more bass, just correct what I have. I’ve read a number of the posts here about setting up multiple subwoofers but I wonder if you could provide a link or two for how I can learn more about setting them up?

Check out this article on the MiniDSP website:
https://www.minidsp.com/applications/subwoofer-tuning/tuning-multiple-subs

Another good write-up is this:
https://hometheater.substack.com/p/coming-soon

 

[Daverich4]

Check out this article on the MiniDSP website:
https://www.minidsp.com/applications/subwoofer-tuning/tuning-multiple-subs

Another good write-up is this:
https://hometheater.substack.com/p/coming-soon

Thanks for the links, especially the one for MiniDSP. I don't think I'd need any of their products as the subwoofers I'm looking at are the new versions of the SVS 3000's which have their own DSP. Lots of useful info in the link even so.

 

[janbth]

Thanks for the links, especially the one for MiniDSP. I don't think I'd need any of their products as the subwoofers I'm looking at are the new versions of the SVS 3000's which have their own DSP. Lots of useful info in the link even so.

Yes, MiniDSP has some useful write-ups with general info, even if you’re not buying a MiniDSP device.