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Little help with REL subwoofers, please?

I'm not especially knowledgeable about subwoofers and I'd appreciate some advice. I've got a pair of Magnepan 1.7i placed in a small (long, rectangular) room. I had a hefty JL sub that shook the house but that I could never fully integrate. On a whim, I switched it out for a pair of the diminutive REL Tzero subs and the sound is vastly better. On some music, though, such as classical organ, I miss the growl and thunder. I don't feel like I need to boost the "upper bass" and I definitely don't want to muddy things up; it's really the deep rumble that I occasionally want.

If it helps, I'm thinking of a piece of music like Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight," which about halfway through delivers a broad, deep sweep of musical sound that I want to *feel.*

I'm mostly pleased with the setup and I don't want to reinvent my room's wheel or break the bank. And I'd like to stay with at least two subs and likely stay with REL. So I'm thinking I might: 1) add a T/9X or maybe a T/7X and perhaps keep the crossover low; or 2) swap out the Tzeros and replace them with a pair of T/7Xs. For now, a pair of T/9Xs is a budgetary stretch that I'd like to avoid (and it is a small room).

Would it be weird having two Tzeros combined with the much bigger T/9X? Would the T/7X produce that deep, enveloping bass? I'm not particularly good at reading specs but -6dB at 30Hz doesn't sound especially deep to me. (The JL was -3dB at 23Hz.) Or am I misunderstanding how bass works and would a T/7X go plenty deep in a small room?

Thanks and Happy New Year!

 

northman
northman OP
236 posts
 

I had a JL E110. I had it dialed in pretty nicely in another room with other speakers. Moving into this smaller room and changing to the Maggies ... just didn't work. I used a CR-1; bass traps; the subwoofer crawl; and lots of different placement attempts. I thought it was a fine sub and super fun but I couldn't make it consistently work, especially for more demanding music. That's undoubtedly on me--but there comes a time to try something else. The two small RELs aren't in the same league as the JL but they sound much better! 

As is obvious, I not especially knowledgable about subwoofers or the physics of sound. Reading around the internet about Maggies and subs is dizzying. (I should add that I've owned Maggies on and off for thirty years.) I think I'm just going to have to take a leap and do some experimenting....

fourniture52's avatar
fourniture52
2 posts
 

Classical organ music goes down to 16 Hz. That is a 32 foot organ pedal. The REL T series will not approach that type of response. 

northman OP
236 posts
 

Sure, I do understand that. My room is just a bit over 250 sq feet, so I'm not trying to reproduce St Patrick's Cathedral. I'd simply like to introduce some rumblier lows without creating new problems (or introducing new lows to my bank account). 

m-db's avatar
m-db
937 posts
 

@northman  I hope you were able to return that $3K crossover for the $2K subwoofer. For about the same outlay the F110 would have been the way to go.

Equalization is what would have allowed you to easily enjoy that Organ pedal and the Cathedral regardless of main speakers or your room size. At -6dB no, their not even remotely in the same league.

At the bottom of it all one's satisfaction is paramount. All the best.    

 

northman OP
236 posts
 

Ha! Yes, the crossover was easily sold without a loss. I enjoyed having it; i's a neat piece of kit. I've always held off on equalization (if only because ... one more thing) but I hear you. Maybe the time has come. Any recommendations? 

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