Experience with stacked subwoofers?


I have seen a handful of responses to posts mentioning stacked line array subwoofers, like the stackable Rel 510s. Does anyone have a stacked subwoofer array in their system and can speak to their experience?  The marketing hype that Rel puts out about this has me intrigued. Their explanation as to why it’s awesome makes sense, but also I want to go beyond the marketing and hear about real experiences before I drop a bunch of dough on something like that. 

bobelton

My room is a bit of a challenge with it's smallish (11' x 17') size. I have the speakers a bit closer to the side walls than they should be, but that's to get them 8' apart for a bigger, broader soundstage. The subs are just to the inside of the speakers. REL recommends them to the outside, but say inside also works if there are space constraints. Despite the challenges it all sounds great....better than I would have thought otherwise.

My wife and I plan to move the whole thing to our living room, which is 13.5' x 22', and 1/2' taller (8.5' vs 8'). That should give it all more room to breath and allow positioning the subs to the outside of the speakers. We have some logistic things to work out first though (e.g. turntable isolation).

@m-db The manufacturer manual has them noted to reach down to 12Hz, I let them go as low as they want and they cut off around 80Hz. To answer placement these towers are right next to the main speakers about 5ft and 7ft off back wall respectively (its sloped) and off the side walls 3ft and 4ft on either side. The SVS SB 16 subwoofers are not symmetrical across from each other set mid-wall, one firing perpendicular to the mains, and the other is a a 45 degree angle towards the mains. Do not put them in corners, you’ll create crazy room modes. On a good movie I’ll get guests to literally jump off the couch due to the excellent low frequency response, it will cause large water ripples in a cup and make your stomach flip. Lol
 

Thanks,

Steve 

@hifidream I appreciate your ​taking the time to respond.

I think I've seen that 12Hz figure somewhere. I was trying to get an idea of their output level at their claimed low frequency.

By example SVS claims your SB-16's -3dB@16Hz, while Audioholics measured them a very close -3dB@18Hz outdoors. 

Regardless, the description and your satisfaction of your systems low frequency performance must be stunning. Enjoy.   

 

@dwette your setup looks great! I'm very interested to hear/see how it all ends up with the last 2 subs!

 

I guess all the marketing hype was true. A Rel 6 pack adds so much extra air that you end up with a bigger listening room ;-)