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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
northman OP
236 posts
 

@mijostyn 

Right on! Great to hear about the Smashing Pumpkins show, and good call on the ear protection. I looked into custom ear protection about a year ago but never followed up.

I no longer live in Boston but have moved on up ... to the west side ... and I now live in Vermont. I think I've only been to the "new" Garden once, to see the Stones on their 50th Anniversary tour, back when they were youngsters. I haven't forsaken music, though. After Jerry died, I eventually found my way to Phish (which is easy to do in VT) and have seen them many times at MSG. And I'll be back in Boston in a month for a classical concert at Jordan Hall. So the music never stopped...

I'm interested in dsp, but every time I look into it, I get overwhelmed. I do enjoy a project, though, and maybe it's time to take a harder look. I'm drawn to the miniDSP gear.

jeenam
131 posts
 

Tzero subs are not going to be able to output the lowest octave very loudly. As a former owner of multiple Rel subs (Storm III, R205, T5 and T7), I recommend looking into Rythmik subs. They will output down to 20Hz and they will integrate very well. Rythmik offers amplifiers with speaker level inputs so you can connect their subs the same way Rel recommends. This will allow you to preserve the tone of the amplifier that is driving your Maggies. Rythmik recommends using the line level RCA or balanced XLR, which is how most owners connect their subs. I opted for speaker level input to a Rythmik F12 due to gain mismatching with my 2-ch amp.

I’m still a fan of Rel, but Rythmik subs are a much better value at this point IMHO. You can purchase a used F12G for around the same price as a used T9i. The F12G will smoke the T9i in regards to output level, and it will do so cleanly down to 20Hz. An even better value would be their L12 sub. The difference between the F12 and L12 is minimal according to user reports.

ross6860's avatar
ross6860
103 posts
 

FWIW, Running Magnepan 1.7i with two REL T/7i

Small treated room (11x14).

I'm happy with the results, and I do enjoy classical music and classical organ, I played the organ (Wurlitzer) until it wouldn't fit in the house.  Should have bought the Hammond...

 

ronboco
740 posts
 

How about RELs S series?

Ag insider logo xs@2x
drlou77
104 posts
 

@northman 

I’m going to buck the trend.  My treated room is small, 11 x 14.  I have on REL S/510 with B&W 804s.  The sub is invisible in my room.  It’s tuned perfectly to integrate with my main speakers with Anthem’s Arc Genesis.  I don’t listen to organ music, but I can play the Dr. Chesky’s demo disc and get back to you.  I was going to get the T/9x, but it didn’t produce enough bass for music or movies.

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