I'm using two SVS SB2000 Pros and couldn't be happier. Others suggest RELs are more musical, and they may be. However, I've been listening to high and higher-end audio for 50-some years, am a musician (bass player), and am critical as can be when it comes to sound reproduction in the lower regions. From my perspective and from what my ears tell me I'd be hard-pressed to complain about anything I'm getting with the SVS subs. There is edge, texture, definition and color to very deep bass, sometimes nearly shockingly so. Besides the SQ of those subs, three other big pluses suggest a hard look at SVS: Cost, the SVS app, and their customer service. Cost: huge bang for the buck! The app: Worth the price of admission IMO. I had my first SB 2000 absolutely seamlessly integrated within probably no more than 30 minutes, and I never left my chair. Priceless! And SVS customer service: I can't say enough other than it's superb. Besides several conversations over time with staff members that were always friendly and helpful, in the end I bought my second sub used from a private party, and it was perfect except for a small blem on the grill. I called SVS to see if I might purchase one, but they insisted on sending me one gratis. Can't beat that.
Are REL the most Musical Subs?
Forgive me if I have created a redundant thread. I don’t usually post in the Speakers area.
I have a Paradigm sub in my basement HT that has apparently given up the ghost after about 20 years. I’m not a huge bass listener. We used to use the area for movies but lately a different room of the home has taken that over. I listen to classical music and the system gets used primarily for SACD and Blu Ray. No desire for multiple subs. The front speakers are full range, setup is 5.1
I added a REL sub to my 2 channel system a few years ago, an REL, and have been delighted with the results. It doesn’t boom at me. What it does do is add the low level percussion effects that composers such as Mahler, Shostakovich , and modernist composers add to reinforce bass lines. I never realized, for example, how many gentle tympani and gong effects are in Shostakovich Babi Yar symphony.
The REL integrates all of this naturally without calling attention to itself. The Paradigm in the basement never did this but it was an older design and more budget friendly.
So I am inclined to replace the Paradigm with another REL in the basement but was wondering what the current thinking is with subs. I haven’t paid much attention lately and the stuff that I have pulled discusses multiple subs, Atmos, etc, and doesn’t seem to address my needs.
Placement will be different as well. The current sub is placed between the front speakers, and the gear rack is on the other side of the room. 20 years ago I had the energy to bury the cables next to a baseboard heat along the all, after schlepping the sub over the basement testing placement spots,but with advances in DSP I’m now hoping to place the sub next to the rack