What concerns me is how little watts the REL subs put out. The T/9i with only 300 class A watts, the S3 with only 400 watts class D and the S5 with just 550 watts class D. Other sealed subs in the same or lower price range put out 800 watts to 1500 watts.
Can anyone hear the difference when you add REL subwoofers when playing two channel
I wonder if anyone else has had problems hearing a difference when adding REL subwoofers to their two channel systems? I have gone back to a reputable dealer in town to listen to a pair of Vienna Acoustic Mozart's paired with a REL S3 and I couldn't detect a difference when they added and subtracted the REL. I wonder if this was because the Vienna Acoustic Mozart's are already can extend down to 30 Hz. I have also read reviews on the Mozart's and they said one of their criticisms was they felt the Mozart's to be too boomy in the bass.
The dealer keeps telling me I am expecting to hear a more punchy pounding bass sound and that is not what I should be listening to. He keeps saying I should be listening for greater depth and space to create a larger sound stage. He went on to say if I had a subwoofer that delivered too much bass, they would eventually drive me out of the room and spoil my enjoyment of listening to music. I thought I had sensitive ears to sound, but in this case I wonder if I am tone deaf. My fear is getting a pair of T/9i's in my home and my wife telling me I wasted our money because she could not hear a difference.
There must be a reason why so many dealers have told me their first pick would be a REL because they are so musical.
I also question why REL manufactures their subs with such low wattage? For example, their S3 delivers only 400 watts and their T/9i's deliver just 300 watts. When comparing them to subwoofers like JL, which deliver 750 watts to $1500 watts, maybe REL subwoofers are just too wimpy.
The dealer keeps telling me I am expecting to hear a more punchy pounding bass sound and that is not what I should be listening to. He keeps saying I should be listening for greater depth and space to create a larger sound stage. He went on to say if I had a subwoofer that delivered too much bass, they would eventually drive me out of the room and spoil my enjoyment of listening to music. I thought I had sensitive ears to sound, but in this case I wonder if I am tone deaf. My fear is getting a pair of T/9i's in my home and my wife telling me I wasted our money because she could not hear a difference.
There must be a reason why so many dealers have told me their first pick would be a REL because they are so musical.
I also question why REL manufactures their subs with such low wattage? For example, their S3 delivers only 400 watts and their T/9i's deliver just 300 watts. When comparing them to subwoofers like JL, which deliver 750 watts to $1500 watts, maybe REL subwoofers are just too wimpy.
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I am using a pair of REL Carbon Serie S (same Power as S/5) and they added another dimension to overall musicality. I picked out REL for bass quality and their seamless integration with the main speakers. To my ears, what makes REL performance extraordinaire is its clarity and focus in addition to its obvious bass extension and dynamic headroom. I would like to point out, subwoofer takes bit of patience and tweaking with placement. Once you get them dialed in properly, you wouldn’t imagine listening to your system without the subs ever again. |
might want to consider a Rythmik F18 then (better safe than sorry :) ): http://www.rythmikaudio.com/F18.html |
A lot of the guys who have only tried one or two subs in a system will tell you the REL is really good. All of the guys who have tried a Swarm type distributed bass array with 4 subs will tell you this is definitely the way to go. Because: it is definitely the way to go. Sub or no sub makes no difference at all unless the recording has low enough bass to matter in the first place. When you do get a Swarm type distributed bass array that will allow you to experience for the first time really low, articulate and dynamic bass, one thing you will notice is its hardly ever there, and then will surprise you when it is. Like a lot of times a bass player as he slides off a note it trails off and down, way down, way further than you ever heard, in fact you don't hear it you just sort of feel it. "Sort of" because it feels so much different than anything you're used to unless and until you've heard proper DBA bass. Because this just never happens with only one or two subs. Not unless maybe equalized, and then only in the one spot it was equalized for. The best demo track I know, with powerful extreme low bass that is also musical and with a bass line progression making it easy to follow is Bela Fleck Flight of the Cosmic Hippo. You're welcome. |
I wonder how many prefer REL subwoofers over other brands and if they can really hear the difference. I talked to JL and they set up their subs to change the cross overs to produce the bass and allow the towers to provide more of the mid and high frequencies. I also talked to SVS and I don't consider them to be of audiophile quality. I was told REL designed their subwoofers to allow speakers to enhance what is already there. I would like to the lower bass extension when listening to Michael Wollney's song, Little Person. Songs with extended bass lines would be nicer to listen to. |
I have a pair of VA Mozart Grands I picked up cheap when Best Buy dropped the line a few years ago. In my experience if you want punchy, powerful sounding bass you need bigger woofers than the Mozarts have. They play plenty deep but I find them to be distinctively lacking in punch and impact. A subwoofer won't fix this because subs don't play the upper bass where the visceral impact comes from. I believe REL subs tend to use smaller woofers as well. I suspect this helps them blend with main speakers more easily but it also means they will have less transient impact than a larger driver. |
I would try with a broad range of music, just to be sure. Also, RELs in that price range don't hit down to 20Hz (T/9i) drops off at 28Hz - that could be the reason why not hearing much difference - although, like I said - could be choice of demo material, too. Try different styles of music. I think you have to go to the S5 to get down to 20Hz or even the next model up from that. talking big $ if you want the REL to plumb the depths |