Best Sub - Rel or Vandersteen


Please give me your thoughts on which sub is better. I need something that will work for both music and HT, but I must have quick tight bass which you can hear and not necessarily shake the window panes out. Thank you for your help. Rick
rlambertaa54
the rel is the way to go. their signal pickup method and crossover /amp are far and away better than any thing else on the market. listen to any rel. and you will understand
If you own Vandersteen speakers, I think the Vandy subs are a better choice. The Vandy subwoofer uses a special interconnect between the amp and the sub which provides the ideal interface with Vandy main speakers. On the other hand, if you do NOT own Vandy main speakers, I think the REL is a better choice. The REL Q201E, for example, has two connections from your preamp: one for music, and one for LFE used in home theater.
I own a Rel Storm. This is their entry level sub. I think you would be real happy with any of the REL subs, they are very flexible for either HTA or audio.
I own a pair of 2w upgraded to 2wq. One worked well with my Magnepan MG2bs. Adding the second in true stereo worked phenomenal. My amp is a Bryston 2b (50 watts/channel) to drive the Maggies with the subs. I like the way Vandersteen uses an x-filter between the amp and preamp. An inigrated amp is out the question and will not work. I purchased both subs used off the net and invested for the upgrades from Vandersteen. I found out you can not use a standard 2w with a 2wq configured in a stereo pair. Impedance mismatch.. The key for proper set-up is matching the x-filter in-between your amp and preamp. You hook up the subs by shunting directly off the amp with speaker cables the same as the main speakers. Cables are included with the sub. Vandy also includes a black box with dipswitches to change input impedance. You start out by setting the recommended amp input impedance and go up or down from there. You listen for the best result and purchase the selected value x-filter to replace the black box. In a nutshell, The base is phenomenal, tight and focused. I'm happy...Vandersteens web page will also shed some light. Food for thought to help in your decision...