With so many apparent new subwoofer owners, it is tips like this that can be a good starting point for those in a rut. Ask me how I know ;). My experience with REL is the placement is the key, not only relative to the room but also to the speakers. The phase switch is a big deal, but easy to determine. Finding the rough area is harder than the fine tuning. Measurement software/hardware makes this far more accurate and efficient. Best of luck.
My subwoofer trials and tribulations.
This is a response to another thread but I thought it may help someone experiencing difficulty integrating their subs.
I am going to expound a bit on my original statement of a year's time to integrate. I had never had subwoofers in any iteration. Not in a vehicle even. I had followed RELs instructions in the manual for setting these up. Using the hi level speakon I had limited but unsatisfying results. No matter where I put them or how I angled them. I fiddled with crossover and gain setting knobs more than my wife's knobs. I gave up after a while and at the advice of another forum member and hooked them up via RCA and used my integrated's subwoofer controls and low/ hi pass filters. This gave me what I was looking for or so I thought. After using them in this manner I started thinking, "Could it be better?" and "Why does REL insist the Speakon hi-level connection is best?" These thoughts propelled me to seek. I went back to hi level and worked at it some more. Still disappointed. I reached out to REL and after quite a length (months) of time I was finally contacted by a tech. He had me turn my gain about halfway up and my crossover at 0. I had to 'walk' the crossover up slowly to hear it finally kick in. In other words, I had to not hear it before I could finally hear it. From there it was a matter of listening over a few days and adjusting which, in my case tended to be adjusting down incrementally on both crossover and gain. Have I got it perfected yet? Don't know, but I am finally getting what I paid for and it makes a huge difference in every aspect. Satisfying lows, thump when needed, grab you by the keester, rumbly in your tumbly bass if called for, Timbre, clarity of mids and highs and a much improved soundstage.
My journey could have been shortened quite a bit if the advice of bringing the crossover up from zero slowly had been in the manual. It is in a video online buried in the archives but I never knew about it. It also could have been shortened if REL had been more responsive to my emails and texts. I had almost given up on them but now they are tuned and integrated they are very good. Are there better? More than likely. But wow, what a difference.
was my response to another thread but I thought it may help someone experiencing difficulty integrating subwoofers.
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I didn't really have any issues with integrating the REL subwoofer into my system. I basically followed the manual (connected to the hi-level Speakon cables), placed the subwoofer in a corner, and adjusted crossover and volume until I got the sound that I was satisfied with. Set up can be different for everyone and I do believe that REL should've been more responsive. |
@soix I really don't know! This one bit of instruction would have saved me literally months of frustration and bad feelings. I was even beginning to think I was deaf to bass! @ohlala I think I'm pretty close on placement but of course willing to try anything to get best results possible. Currently they are to the outside and back a foot off my mains. I know I should run REW but what advice or what did you do to get it right? |
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