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Are REL the most Musical Subs?

Forgive me if I have created a redundant thread.  I don’t usually post in the Speakers area.

  I have a Paradigm sub in my basement HT that has apparently given up the ghost after about 20 years.  I’m not a huge bass listener.  We used to use the area for movies but lately a different room of the home has taken that over.  I listen to classical music and the system gets used primarily for SACD and Blu Ray.  No desire for multiple subs.  The front speakers are full range, setup is 5.1

  I added a REL sub to my 2 channel system a few years ago, an REL, and have been delighted with the results.  It doesn’t boom at me.  What it does do is add the low level percussion effects that composers such as Mahler, Shostakovich , and modernist composers add to reinforce bass lines.  I never realized, for example, how many gentle tympani and gong effects are in Shostakovich Babi Yar symphony.

The REL integrates all of this naturally without calling attention to itself.  The Paradigm in the basement never did this but it was an older design and more budget friendly.

  So I am inclined to replace the Paradigm with another REL in the basement but was wondering what the current thinking is with subs.  I haven’t paid much attention lately and the stuff that I have pulled discusses multiple subs, Atmos, etc, and doesn’t seem to address my needs.

  Placement will be different as well.  The current sub is placed between the front speakers, and the gear rack is on the other side of the room.  20 years ago I had the energy to bury the cables next to a baseboard heat along the all, after schlepping the sub over the basement testing placement spots,but with advances in DSP I’m now hoping to place the sub next to the rack

mahler123
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 

Good for you @phusis. Subwoofers should not be musical. They are to be felt more than heard. 

Rel, SVS, Rhythmik and even JL Audio are MidFi subwoofers. Aside from inexpensive enclosure construction they are expected to operate with a low pass filter only which prevents the system they are attached to from performing at its best. You need a complete 2 way crossover and steep filters available only in the digital domain for the best performance. 

The best subwoofers are passive, crossovers and amplifiers are outboard. They have balanced force design and enclosures that are made in shapes that are inherently rigid, out of materials that are self damping. A good subwoofer should be able to pound the crap out of you without any resonance. You should be able to turn the volume up to 105 dB, put your hand on the enclosure and feel absolutely no vibration or shaking as if it were disconnected. 

maxlove1
21 posts
 

I agree with the above recommendation of adding a second sub to your two channel system.  When I had only one large sub there seem to be areas in the room where the bass was louder or softer with an occasion boom node thrown in.  Adding a second sub (same model) made all that go away.  I too listen to classical music.  With two subs the bass field was more natural and realistic sounding.

kvpower
7 posts
 

You should also consider the KC92’s from KEF. One additional beauty to these is that they can be stackable as well. They sound amazing and extremely musical.

scm
313 posts
 

 HSU ULS-15 subs are musical for sure. Sealed 15"  

mspot
115 posts
 

I don’t know if multiple subs would really make a difference?

Yes it makes a difference, as multiple responses have pointed out. The reason is the way bass notes interact with a room.

Bass notes (say 20-60 Hz) have wavelengths in the range of 19 to 56 feet depending on the frequency. As bass notes bounce between surfaces of the room, they reinforce or cancel with the reflections, causing something called room modes, where certain frequencies have peaks and valleys at certain locations in the room.

When you use more than one subwoofer, they are in different positions and each one creates a different room mode pattern. Blended together, they produce a more even bass response in the room. Two smaller subwoofers are capable of creating higher quality bass than a larger more powerful single subwoofer.

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