Willsenton R8 Tube Amp with REL Subwoofer


Hi, my setup is the Willsenton R8 with PS Audio Direct Stream Memory Player CD/SACD and Bel Canto DAC 3.7 going into Sonus Faber Sonetto VIII speakers.

I play a wide range of music Classical; Jazz; Rock and Electronic.

What I'd like help on is anyone who has added a REL subwoofer to the Willsenton R8 and if possible Sonus Faber Sonetto speakers and what if any benefit they saw? It's not that I don't have bass definition as I do, it's just if adding the subwoofer produces a worthwhile improvement?

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Showing 1 response by knotscott

IMHO, the key to successfully integrating any subwoofer, is to use it to subtly augment just the lowest octave of the bass you already have, and not feature it. Assuming you want natural musical bass, and not dance floor thump, I’d run main speakers full range, feed the high level input of the sub with the amp’s output, set the low pass filter to it’s lowest setting (40-50hz), and set the gain just loud enough so you can barely detect that the sub is on. The REL and your Willsenton with your speakers should work really nicely once placed well and dialed in suitably. There’ll be plenty of trial and error to optimize it, but that’s part of the fun.