2. home-theater
  3. 146911-72084

Have a pair of REL S3 HO and they don't produce enough bass

Hi all-

Just picked up a pair of REL S3 HO subs to work with both my 2 channel system and my home theater. The high output speaker connections on the subs go to my 2 channel system and plug into each mono block amp. The LFE connection from each sub hooks into my Anthem 720 receiver for home theater. 

For the 2 channel system it seems to work well. Nice low bass helping out my Focal Kanta No. 2 speakers. 

However, for the home theater system, they just don't produce enough bass. I have to turn them ALL the way up using the sub's LFE volume control, AND turn them all the way up in my Anthem receiver settings to get any semblance of home theater bass. I know this isn't normal, so something has to be either wrong, or the subs just aren't meant for home theater use.

I was using a pair of SVS 12" subs and man those things rocked. However, I picked up the RELs so I could integrate them with my 2 channel system as well, something the SVS' could not do.

Any idea what could be the problem? 

A side note: I have NOT run Anthem's ARC program again since buying the RELs. Perhaps that could be the issue, but I didn't think it would make that much of a difference. However, I could obviously be wrong. :-)

Thanks!
sadcaper

Showing 2 responses by sadcaper

sadcaper OP
2 posts
 
No fix yet for this. I ran ARC again and same thing. I spoke with Rel and they suggested starting over again. So I’m just living with it for now. It’s adequate i suppose, but it’s not “great” which it should be. 
sadcaper OP
2 posts
 
Play with the HI/LO level adjustment...1 click at a time. I can quickly fill my room with more bass than my neighbors can stand with 1 S5 SHO. It does take some time and tweaking to get it dialed in but the results are worth it.

The problem is that I'm only connecting the LFE input to the sub from the Anthem receiver, so there's really only one adjustment and that's the LFE volume. 

I've been working on this off and on since I originally posted this, and I've gotten nowhere. I called the shop I bought them from and asked if they thought trading them both in for one S812 would help and he said probably not. He thinks it's something with the Anthem setup that's not delivering full power to the REL. 

I don't doubt that, but I've poured over the Anthem setup and can't find anything that I haven't tried already. I turned ARC off/on, changed the crossover point...nothing changes the bass level. I should be getting blow away with the LFE volume cranked to the max...but just very OK HT bass. 

Not sure where else to go cuz my 2 channel sounds amazing with the REL sub! 
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