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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
cooper52 OP
195 posts
 

OP here. Wow, this has turned into quite an education. Much to consider here. I’m especially grateful to deep_333 for the detailed explanation of low frequencies. Despite being a (mostly retired now) professional musician, I hadn’t really paid attention to the octaves issue (i.e. it’s a full octave from 10 to 20 Hz, and another full octave between 20 and 40 Hz, etc.) even though it’s something I’ve known since back in elementary school. 

And also, acknowledgement to m-db for pointing out that my Modwright integrated has pre-outs, which simply escaped my notice up to now. (Doh!). I actually tested it out this morning with my headphone amp just to see if it was functional, and yes indeed, the pre-outs work just fine. So that opens up the field quite a bit.

Rattling the windows and shaking the floor is definitely NOT what I’m looking for in a sub. That’s why a 10" driver is pretty much all I think I’ll need. Just needs to be musical and well integrated, with good "composure," meaning clean and well-defined. I suppose the words "fast" and "accurate" are probably more commonly used to describe these qualities. 

Right now I’m leaning towards the Elac, partly because of availability (Rythmik and MJ Acoustics are equally tempting but seem to be harder to come by at the moment) and partly because of the rated frequency response going down to 18 HZ. (The REL bottomed out at 24 Hz). Haven’t entirely ruled out REL yet, though. 

Still thinking...

emergingsoul
1,265 posts
 

Subwoofer drivers have become too damn small.

They should be at least 12 inches otherwise it’s artificial.

I hate controlling subwoofer via dsp via wi-Fi on your smart phone.  Leave the damn dials on the back of the sub. But they don't do that anymore do they?

m-db's avatar
m-db
1,024 posts
 

@mylogic  Thank you for your kind acknowledgment. 

During my time with a new top of their line end table sized $9K beautifully hand veneered British made Studio III, the benefit from repositioning it to a crawl tested standing wave location was barely noticeable at best. 

The benefits of a -6dB sub-bass woofer are the simplicity of their controls and its ability to function well in most any room location due to the inability of its dramatically rolled off low frequency to excite the rooms bass modes. For the uninitiated subwoofer user, perfection. 

deep_333
1,867 posts
 

I used to feel that way....but, after running back and forth between the seat and different subs 1500 times, I seem to be ok with apps.

I hate controlling subwoofer via dsp via wi-Fi on your smart phone. Leave the damn dials on the back of the sub. But they don't do that anymore do they?

bassbuyer
446 posts
 

+ SVS and dual subs.  Meets your needs with excellent customer service.  You can call and talk to a person live if you have any questions when setting up your equipment.  

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