Vitus RI-100 And REL G2 Sub Wiring Experience?

@diasoft  Vitus wrote to me: ".....we strongly recommend not to connect subwoofers to the speaker output of any of our amps."
Thanks
Dirk

@bg3584   Their (Blue Jeans Cable) disclaimer made me so nervous to hook up my sub I never did even though I bought custom cables. I did not want to damage the amp since it's so costly. I emailed Vitus trying to get some answers and they were not very helpful.

 

So two reputable companies are as clear as glass yet you're looking here for some hack (not referring to the wonderfully helpful, Almarg) to tell you there's a way to use that fakakta speaker/high level wire scheme?  

Since they don't come close to any actual -3dB subwoofers low frequency presentation, exactly what is the lure here, the visual? Is it that Gold crown on the driver dust cover hinting of its once British origin, or the shinny chrome bits and black paint? 

Considering their popularity on What's Best Forum I'm certain their -6dB lack of sub-sonic output that allows for their flexible room placement stacks next to the main speakers, a show of opulent authority. Outstanding deep pocket marketing. 

Also have the same problem. Have Vitus RI-101 mk2 and looking at getting a REL sub. Vitus site says NOT to use the speaker connections and only the the pre-outs. I was even having trouble hooking it up to a sub with only rca inputs. Had to have blue jeans cables make custom sub cables for me. XLR->RCA with 10k ohm resistors on pin 2 if I remember correctly. Their disclaimer made me so nervous to hook up my sub I never did even though I bought custom cables. I did not want to damage the amp since it's so costly. I emailed Vitus trying to get some answers and they were not very helpful. Please let me know how you hooked up you REL if you ever did. Thanks!

Hi @diasoft 

What did you do with your sub in the end?

 

I have the same problem. I owned a REL TX9 before I got the the sia025. I love the amp. I have connected via the high level and floated the earth lead. I want to try the rca connection but don’t know how to manage the balanced pre out only. 

So,
how did you connect the Vitus amp and the REL Sub? I have a fully balanced SIA 025/SS 025 combo and I am thinking about buying two RELs.
Vitus wrote to me: ".....we strongly recommend not to connect subwoofers to the speaker output of any of our amps."
Thanks
Dirk

Both the rear panel of the amp and the manual have strongly worded statements indicating that the amp's speaker outputs are balanced, and will be damaged if the negative output terminal is connected to a ground.

I suspect that the terminal on the rear of the amp labelled "gnd/earth" provides a circuit ground point (as opposed to a chassis ground point), to which the sub's negative input (i.e., its circuit ground) can be safely connected. If you can't readily get confirmation of that from Vitus, you can confirm it by using a multimeter to check for continuity (zero ohms, or a tiny fraction of an ohm) between that point and the ground sleeve of an RCA connector on the amp. (Have nothing else connected to the amp if and when you make that measurement; otherwise the results might be misleading). If so, you are good to go; for each channel just connect the corresponding sub's negative input (the black wire) to that gnd/earth terminal, and its positive inputs (both the red and yellow wires) to the amp's positive output terminal for that channel.

If the multimeter indicates a low resistance (say 10 or 20 ohms or so) rather than 0 ohms, that connection arrangement should also work fine.

If the multimeter indicates a very high resistance, or an infinite resistance, then I would suggest that you obtain an RCA plug, solder the black wire from the sub to its ground sleeve connection point (while leaving the center pin unconnected), and insert that plug into an unused RCA connector on the amp. That will establish a suitable circuit ground connection.

Disclaimer: I have no experience with either Vitus products or REL subs. My comments are based on electrical engineering principles, which I feel certain are highly applicable to this particular situation.

Regards,
-- Al