Which Sub. Rel B-1 or Fathom F-113

Hello gentlemen,

REL started out in Wales and like Dynaudio, another European speaker manufacturer, REL focused on a typical European set up (smaller room, brick building, 220 V electricity, etc...) It makes sense for an audiophile who has a small-mid size listening area to go with REL where REL power subwoofers would do best.

I have heard of JL Audio years before they entered the home audio market and indeed it is a reputable company. But keep in mind that unlike REL, JL Audio started out as a car audio company based in Florida and its design philosophy is totally different than that of REL. Since JL Audio focused entirely on American market where the majority of the market demands are bigger means better. It makes perfect sense if you have a listening area the size of Brazil to use JL Audio powered subwoofers rather than REL.

A million dollar system would not sound great in my man cave (I am a dirt poor accountant who could only afford Hsu or Outlaw power subs or TOTEM if I am lucky to come across a great deal on audio) but of course this system will definitely sound great in Mr. Oneobgyn's house. A hometheater system that costs less than $20K will not do his listening area justice.

REL is a good company and it still has many serious audiophile followers. However, REL is no longer the little mom-and-pop company like TOTEM or maybe JL Audio (I am not too sure because I assume JL Audio is) so the quality of REL products have been somewhat decreased.

Kind regards,

Mr. REL sold his company to Sumiko several years ago and REL design and marketing philosophies have changed a great deal since the time Mr. REL still was in the industry.

Kind regards,

I am curious how the Velodyne DD series compares.I do believe that the room is the biggest factor,then our personnel preferences and then our systems.I am a two channel listener,I have Thiel CS6s driven by Classe Cam-350s in a 22'x25'x11.5' room.I only want to help the Thiels and achive a better listening experience.From what I gather reading the Rel would be more musical,the JL a bit more for HT and the Velodyne even more so?

I have a B-1 attatched to my B annd w 802d's and the B1 is astounding!. Yes Rel was sold but this speaker was in the works way before the sale and it is Fast and Acuurate. I also have 2 r305's that I am using on my center nad rears for Ht. This is the beauty of the rels. They can be positioned within a system to give you unbelievable detail no matter where and how you need it. I have auditioned Velodyne and revel b series and the B1 simply blows them out of the water. With the Synergistic Research rel cable you simply cannot find a better subwoofer.

Okay let me chime in here. I've owned a REL Storm which was sold and replaced with a REL Stentor III. Both were used in my room 21x15 which you can reference thru the link under my name. I subsequently sold the Stentor III after I bought a pair of JL audio F113's. The JL's do outperform the REL as stated above. The REL was/is more polite and softer on hard heavy notes, probabaly a hold over from the British mini monitor days where all of their speakers were "polite" sounding.

The REL is a great subwoofer and I'm glad you are happy with it in your room, and your system.The comparison I would make is that the JL plays lower and tighter and louder than the REL ever could. I'm not talking boomy bass either. These are the tightest cleanest subwoofers I have owned to date and I've owned at least four different brands of subs in my 30 years in audio. To make the comparison fair I only used one JL sub when I compared the REL Stentor III and the F113.