["REL makes the best "musical" subs, period. And they sound great with SF speakers. NEVER cross over your main speakers through a subwoofer." by Audiofreak32]
I'm not being sarcastic in saying it's wonderful that you have found a product that suits your taste so well that it has you proclaiming its absolute superiority in a market with so many products to choose from let alone audition. On the other hand if you're simply trolling, then for the sake of a differing opinion, I'll bite.
Some time ago I was able to make a direct comparison in my system with the REL Studio III, JL Audio F 113, and my subwoofer at the time a Velodyne DD 18. The fit and finish of the REL, while very nice, didn't seem to warrant it's almost $10,000 price.
The JL with its Automatic Room Optimization was the easiest and quickest to setup.
The Velodyne has both an auto and a manual digital equalization. The manual method takes more time than the JL but I found its room/system equalization provided the better system integration of the three.
The REL's three paragraphs of setup instructions and four manual adjustments which are accomplished by ear is certainly old school. Even after hours of repositioning and adjusting the REL never approached the level of seamless integration of the JL or the Velodyne. By connecting the REL between the amplifier and speakers my investment in Cardas Golden Reference Speaker Cable was nullified slightly reducing my Avalon Eidolons high frequency response and the sound staging.
Set up correctly one shouldn't notice a sub in the room until it's turned off which could be considered subjective, I don't.
The JL Audio and the Velodyne were very close at this with the Velodyne edging out the JL.
The REL could accomplish this by reducing its gain which in turn reduced the realistic punch and speed from Kick Drum beats compared to the other two subs. This isn't as apparent with orchestral and music not using trap Drums. In my room the REL produce a nasty node which was confirmed using the Velodyne on screen equalization program. Using a DSPeaker in conjunction with the REL may be a great benefit as well as adding to its already high price.
While this comparison was eye opening for me one should be reminded that results such as these can vary greatly from room to room which makes the effort of in home auditioning very important, as confirmed by Audiofreak32's apparent success.
