Is your 218 still under its trial period?
Gain level on a REL sub
Hi. I have purchase a REL R 218 sub to compliment my system and as far as sounding musical, I am happy. However, the gain is almost all the way up and I don feel that punch and slam I am looking for. Musically I am impressed with it but I still dont feel that level of impression overall. When I had the HSU STF-2, it was in a different league with in terms of impact and punch but for detail, the REL was better. My question now, Do you think I should try getting a another REL with the same model for a stereo pair or go with a different sub? My room is pretty small but it is treated with acoustic panels.
Showing 3 responses by m-db
All REL sub-bass speakers are dramatically rolled off -6dB@rated output. Your HSU STF-2 is a -2dB@21 or 22Hz actual subwoofer which demonstrates what you're experiencing with their low frequency presentation differences. Not using the subwoofer crawl to properly position the HSU within your room could explain away the lack of detail you described. Typically the rolled off nature of a sub-bass speaker simply cannot excite a rooms standing wave bass modes making room positioning far less, if at all critical. As an example: look at @wswright20's system photos showing his sub-bass speakers flanking the main speakers in the middle of a front wall, typically a rooms null and the worst place for actual -3dB subwoofers. If you used the low level line connection from your preamplifier outputs with no improvement in gain I'd have the bass speaker checked out by a servicing REL dealer near you. IMO, that extra low frequency Rythmik subwoofer option would be in play well before another over priced rolled off sub-bass speaker. I hope those nice folks on Addison in Berkeley are able to wiggle their way around those 52% tariffs on Chinese products. |
I make that mistake often and I'm a Double Bassist.
The subwoofer crawl is accomplished by positioning the subwoofer (not a sub-bass speakers) stationary at the listening position. The user then moves around the room noting and marking the strongest or best low frequency locations for subwoofer positioning. Originally from Richard Edmund Lord and more recently from a REL brochure:
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