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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!

cooper52
rick_n's avatar
rick_n
332 posts
 

I got some very good advice once.  If you want the best sub, buy if form a company that only makes subs.  This should shorten up your list.  Good luck and cheers. 

mark200mph
396 posts
 

Parts express makes a plate amp you could bolt on the back of you old sub as long as you put an ohm meter on the speaker and make sure it is ok. Enjoy the search.

noodlyarm
113 posts
 

+1 for Rhythmic Subwoofers.   I demoed the REL 812 and found the Rhythmic E15HP2-SE to be far superior and less that half the price.   I bought a pair…   The Rhythmic are deep to the point of inaudibility, very articulate (you can hear and feel the string vibrations on electric bass), and exceptionally fast (they pair very well with electrostatics).   And when well setup, you really don’t “hear” them, but turn them off and the soundstage collapses.

bdp24's avatar
bdp24
10,201 posts
 

 

And speaking of Rythmik (correct spelling smiley) Audio and electrostats: for those who want the ultimate sub/dipole combo, check out the dipole/open baffle woofer/sub that Brian Ding created in collaboration with Danny Richie of GR Research. Add that sub to your dipole loudspeakers (including any and all planars) for full range reproduction down to 20Hz. The only sub of it’s type (open baffle, dipole, servo-feedback controlled woofers) available.

 

cooper52 OP
196 posts
 

Many thanks to all for your suggestions and advice. Unfortunately, in my setup, I only have room for a single sub, and my late, lamented REL S/2 filled the bill admirably. While I’m intrigued by the Rythmik subs, there seems to be an availability problem at the moment and, reading through the info on their website, they don’t recommend speaker-level connections for their subs, but right now, it’s my only option. Nevertheless, the F12 looks like it would be a logical choice for my system. Otherwise, I can see the upsides of the Elac, and I’m very tempted to go that direction despite the fact that it relies on an app. And ATC, as good as it may be, is outside my budget. 

Also, I did some online poking around about bass management but couldn’t find any useful information about how I might incorporate that into the system I currently have, and I’m in no mood to jettison my Modwright amp on that account. This is probably a totally different thread anyway, and I might post that question separately. 

Still haven’t ruled out a new REL, just have to settle on which one if I decide to go that direction. 

And a little postscript here, since it's too late to edit my original post: I mean speaker level INPUTS, not outputs. Oops. 

 

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