REL Carbon Special Subwoofers or the REL G1 Gibraltar Reference Subwoo


Hi Everyone-Im looking to buy 2 subwoofers for my 2 channel stereo. Ive got the Aurender A30, Mark Levinson N53 amps N526 preamp and the Wilson Benesch Resolution 3Zero Speakers. I have all Clarus cables, power cords and power conditioners. They were all purchased used on Audiogon except for the Clarus. I’ve never had subwoofers in a 2 channel rig before just in my HT. Reading the forums here I have been seeing subwoofers being dicussed a bunch of times and has peeked my interest. My main speakers aren’t giving me enough base so I have decided to purchase either the Rel G1Gibraltar or Rel Carbon Special Subwoofers. I’d like to hear some comments on these two subwoofers or if you have any other subs you think I should be looking at.

Thanks,

David

 

 

 

David

Ag insider logo xs@2xfleetowner123

@ricred1, I am only referring to two subwoofers in the ML line, the Balanced Force series. The others are no better than anyone else. There are absolutes is audio. In this case a subwoofer with two opposing drivers is going to perform better than a single driver sub of the same overall quality. Personally, I will not have any of them. I overbuild by own.

@12many , Yes! Isn't that something. Most woofers are actually lower midrange drivers. They are in a portion of the frequency range where we are very sensitive to pitch and distortion. Doppler distortion or Doppler pitch changes occur with objects in motion. The lower a woofer goes the further it has to move to project that frequency at similar volume. The motion becomes visible below about 100 Hz at a moderate volume. The smaller the woofer the more obvious it becomes unless it is used in multiples. The cone is travelling towards you then away from you, changing directions. The same thing occurs when a car passes you. If the driver leans on the horn while it is passing you the tone of the horn changes rather dramatically. Most of us have experienced this first hand. If not I am sure there are YouTubes that demonstrate this. In the case of the woofer, when it changes direction it is changing the pitch of every other note it carries. The larger the portion of the frequency range the woofer carries the more damage it does. In your case you are better off than the OP whose woofer covers another entire octave. Other than making more low end this is the other major reason to use a subwoofer. People will mention how much a subwoofer improves frequencies above the subwoofer range and this is why. What kills me is that most subwoofers do not include a high pass filter for the main speakers totally ignoring a major reason to use a subwoofer in the first place. 

Please, if you are going to use subwoofer use a complete two way crossover. If you really want to take it to the next level use a digital crossover with bass management and room control which requires a measurement microphone usually supplied with the crossover. Some of the very expensive units do not supply a microphone. They expect the dealer to install and adjust the crossover. They will sell you the microphone and computer program as an option. This is a very powerful system. If you think you can do it by ear, have fun trying. I tried for 20 years and could never get it to my satisfaction until I got a TacT 2.2X. It did it in about 1 hour and the bulk of that time was me trying to figure out how it worked. The manual sucked.  

Not going to argue about audio. I owned a Martin Logan subwoofer from their balanced force series. I prefer my current subwoofer. 

Fat chance you will find a subwoofer that can match the speed of the woofers on your speakers. Two Isobaric woofers. If that means anything to you, I would suggest you purchase one Wilson Beseech Torus. The most advance and fast woofer I have heard. Keep in mind it is clean without the doubling that is usually associated with subs. The walls of you listening room are not going to shake, not without the usually 80 Hz. 

s_r_a,    I've never heard subwoofer designers or manufactures mention the speed of their products. Is there a measurement that's not widely known, the sound of out of phase or a subjective observation?

What is, "the doubling associated with subs"?

 

b-db

Very similar to what happens when you toss a large rock into calm water. The first wave is sent out, and smaller and smaller waves follow. An no, manufactures will not tell you their speakers often double. You might want to do a little research on this.