Oh, and an afterthought: if I end up with a sub that has speaker level outputs but not a speakon connection, what would you recommend for cables? Are there speaker cables that are more amenable low frequencies, or would any good cable do the job? Thanks.
Recommendations for a new subwoofer?
I had a REL S/2 sub in my system that I bought new in 2014 but earlier this year it suddenly refused to power up. I checked and replaced the fuse (which actually wasn’t blown in the first place, but couldn’t hurt to try) which yielded no result, so I called up REL directly, as they’re actually located in Berkeley CA, very near to where I live. The person I spoke to was very cordial and helpful, but it turned out that they could no longer repair that model. She did, however, refer me to a tech nearby whom, she said, may be able to help. So after some communication with the tech, I made an appointment and dropped the sub off back in February. Well, I knew in advance that things move slowly with him--he makes that clear from the beginning--so I just waited to hear. Finally, last night (yeah, I know: 3 months later) he informed me that one of the boards was fried, and they don’t make that one any more, so essentially the sub is not repairable.
So this sordid story brings me to my question: what would be a suitable replacement for that sub? It had a 10" driver, which, for my listening habits and the room where my system is, was plenty adequate. It was paired with my Ryan R-610 speakers.
A few subs I am considering: Elac Varro Reference RS500, Paradigm Defiance S10, and the REL T/9X. One reason I’m favoring the latter, despite my previous experience with REL, is that it doesn’t rely on an app to get it dialed in to my system, and I still have a rather good after-market speakon cable I can use. Whatever sub I wind up with will have to have speaker-level outputs, because my integrated (Modwright KWI 200) doesn’t have a sub-appropriate input.
The above list should give indication of what price-range I can manage, i.e. $1500 or less. Recommendations and suggestions gratefully received. Thanks!
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I like Rythmik a lot. They have great sound. I have a Rel HT 1003mk2, great for the price. But something about the Rythmik I just love. Rythmik was a bit more so maybe not fair. Nemo Propaganda has reviews of both and I like his opinions. So far he has been on the money with his descriptions. Look for sales and return policies of course in case you don't like the sound. Someone recommended Mini Micro Subwoofer cable lead - Super-Shielded - Hum-Killer on ebay (link) which I liked as well, but I've used the premium monoprice cable, monster, and haven't noticed any differences. So I don't think you need to spend a lot on cables. IMHO as always. |
It is not looking like much of a competition. That Elac is a true sub with an excellent driver, which will dig down to 18 hz, as stated, no problem. One of the supposed competitors with a -6db down at 27hz is a ’woofer’, not exactly a ’subwoofer’. Besides...if you have a purist rig, no measurement tools, etc, that elac came with some unique tools in its app. You put that elac in a location. Run the 2 cal sweeps with its app, one right next to the driver and one at your listening position. It will show you exactly what it measured and how it corrected for your listening position. If it shows a huge suckout, null, etc on the app’s measurement, move the sub around and run the sweeps again, i.e., it gave you a integration tool that’s user friendly even for guys who may know not know anything about subs or room acoustics. Your chances of success could be much higher. Subs won’t magically integrate without availability and usage of the right tools...despite what the marketing said. Ideally, you should lop your 2-way bookshelf speakers off on the low end around 100 hz or so with ’bass management’ (probably even up to 120hz with dual subs, depending on the room and not localize anything), i.e. prevent that speaker’s woofers from moving too much and pass anything below to the sub. If it moved too much, it will screw everything up at the upper octaves. In your case, it is tasked to handle everything upto 2000hz before some tweeter took over, i.e., it has a lot on its plate. So, you should be a good samaritan and lend it a helping hand. If you can eventually get your hands on something like a Yamaha R-N2000A, R-N1000A, R-N800A, etc amp with such features, it should do the job. |
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