Little help with REL subwoofers, please?


I'm not especially knowledgeable about subwoofers and I'd appreciate some advice. I've got a pair of Magnepan 1.7i placed in a small (long, rectangular) room. I had a hefty JL sub that shook the house but that I could never fully integrate. On a whim, I switched it out for a pair of the diminutive REL Tzero subs and the sound is vastly better. On some music, though, such as classical organ, I miss the growl and thunder. I don't feel like I need to boost the "upper bass" and I definitely don't want to muddy things up; it's really the deep rumble that I occasionally want.

If it helps, I'm thinking of a piece of music like Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight," which about halfway through delivers a broad, deep sweep of musical sound that I want to *feel.*

I'm mostly pleased with the setup and I don't want to reinvent my room's wheel or break the bank. And I'd like to stay with at least two subs and likely stay with REL. So I'm thinking I might: 1) add a T/9X or maybe a T/7X and perhaps keep the crossover low; or 2) swap out the Tzeros and replace them with a pair of T/7Xs. For now, a pair of T/9Xs is a budgetary stretch that I'd like to avoid (and it is a small room).

Would it be weird having two Tzeros combined with the much bigger T/9X? Would the T/7X produce that deep, enveloping bass? I'm not particularly good at reading specs but -6dB at 30Hz doesn't sound especially deep to me. (The JL was -3dB at 23Hz.) Or am I misunderstanding how bass works and would a T/7X go plenty deep in a small room?

Thanks and Happy New Year!

 

northman

Showing 2 responses by jastralfu

@m-db it surprised me to be honest.  I figured it would measure better than the specs, just cause my room tends toward bass heavy,  but not as low as it did.  Tbh, I don’t know how accurate the measurements are but they seem to be consistent.

I don't know how small your space is, but mine is small (12x10) and I just put in two REL T/5x subs.  They were easy to integrate with the Neutrik Speakon connectors.  They move enough air to shake the floor and my listening chair when I turn it up (my neighbors likely don't care for it so I don't do it often).  I looked at Rhythmik as well but they are just too large for my space.  The RELs are the perfect size for me.  Since I bought two I asked the dealer if he could give me a discount and he did at 10%.  If you sell the two TZeros and buy a pair of T/7xs you might be able to swing a discount as well.  My in room performance for the T/5x is probably closer to 25-30HZ.  I've measured using REW and it's around -3db at 30HZ and -6db at 20HZ.  I am quite pleased with them.  They are fast and tight and have the sound I was looking for.