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.
highend64

Have been through a progression on a number of different subs and several Rel models.  Totally agree with a number of posts that Rel subs are most compatible for 2 channel and not the best choice for HT.  IMO the best Rel for HT and music combined is the SE/SX series.  For my setup I have a stereo pair of Rel's for music and a JL Audio sub for HT LFE.  

Having said that, sufficient volume should not be a problem but will not sound great at max gain.  Could be an issue with a number of potential issues already mentioned?  Generally, the common mistake in setting up Rel subs is to have the X-over set too high and the gain too low.  Properly set up Rel's should add major "dynamics" to the music but be totally transparent.  Should not be boomy.  Comment above that the presence of the sub should not be obvious until you turn it off is right on.

Good luck in the quest...

I’m not sure if anyone mentioned this before but there is a phase switch on the back. Flip it the other way. Hope this helps 

@sns His response is right on target.

The wiring is most likely the issue. I just put 2 T/9X's in yesterday and while they were in route I verified the proper wiring scheme to use. Here is what customer service offered:

"Thank you for reaching out. Either a signal ground or earth ground will be fine for connecting the black High Level wires to, though if possible the earth ground screw would be preferred. If you experience hum from the subwoofer when connecting the black wires to this screw, then you could instead try the signal ground and see if this yields improved results. 
 
We recommend starting with both the red and yellow High Level wires connected for each subwoofer, and in most cases this will result in excellent performance and usable signal levels. However, if you find that the subwoofers have too much output, where barely raising their Level controls already results in them overwhelming the output of your main loudspeakers, then you could try disconnecting one of either the red or yellow wire for each subwoofer. This will lower the input signal gain roughly by half, and will allow for greater flexibility when setting their Level controls. The red and yellow wires are functionally identical, though we generally recommend leaving the red wire connected for the right channel subwoofer and yellow wire connected for the left channel subwoofer in these cases."

The low level may be a better option for you. I found that I have very little volume needed for twin subs but am okay with that since it needs so little (about 30% of the volume knob) to mate with the Wilsons. Took me less than 10 minutes to get a good start to proper sound. I'll further tweak it this weekend.

Lots of good tutorials on their website and manuals are also available.

@jacobsrph And yes, check the phase. If sitting next to the mains then 0 is required Put your fingers on the main woofer and sub to verify they are working in the same direction while playing.

 

I appreciate all the help and recommendations. All of you have valid points and can't disagree. However, let me reiterate the situation I am having. With the Hsu sub I had had more of a "presences" feel to bass drum and bass guitar but still without the boomy and muddy sound I don't like. Perhaps maybe the Hsu sub was ported and has a lower response than the REL that I am use to. In the contrary, the Rel just disappears but in a good way. I feel it producing the full audio spectrum and not a sub/sat combo even though it is. 

I am actually using the high level connection and it wired properly. red to R, yellow to L and black to common ground on the amp chassis based on REL recommendation. As for the phase switch I have it 180. I have data to proof they are phase aligned. All you have to do is read phase traces on a graph interpret the slope angle. Again, I use Rational Acoustics for this since I have it available.

As of alot of you mention if one of the option was a defective sub. I really don't see or hear any defective issue with the sub. Maybe the gain staging in the Rel amp is not high enough but still is sufficient for my needs. 

Overall conclusion to this is that REL sub is sufficiently great as long as it produces clean, musical bass with detail and definition.