MJ Acoustics Subwoofers v. REL.

Not a comment on the sound but perhaps some useful information anyway ....

I was thinking of buying two of them a few months ago based on reviews and my need for 2 small, great subs. I talked/emailed with a dealer that was a nightmare, didn't answer my questions (some he didn't know the answers to and others he simply avoided) and had almost no stock ie. limited colors etc. I then contacted the US distributor and found a similar story - not much stock in the country.

Seemed to me like they are just getting going here and have very limited supply and dealers. The chain of support in terms of technical help and/or repair work seemed confused as well which made me nervous. As a result, I would want to buy from committed local dealer if I was you.

I then happened to read a review of the Pro 50 in a British mag - it was up against several other small subs in a shoot out and the very clear winner was the Velodyne SPL-800R although the MJ fared very well too. They claimed the much lower power on the MJ hurts it versus the Velodynes.

I ended up buying the Velodynes used and like them very much with my Totem Hawks.

I have not heard any of the MJ Acoustics subs. But I have the REL B3 and Synergistic Research Rel Spec Phase II X2 cable. The B3 is very musical and blends seamlessly in my system. It easily disappears and is very detailed with lots of control and finesse. TAS did a review in its August 2006 issue. I thick the review was very accurate.

Here is a link to an Audiogon member who tried MJ subs in their system and compares them to Rel and Velodyne.

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?cspkr&1141066212&openflup&36&4#36

Hi - had a 100 for awhile and quite liked it.

yes, it is the same type of amplifier tap/Speakon set up as REL - I hesitate to say the same because I don't know the pin assigns

yes, it is very well made and nicely finished

it is very adjustable with a LED that shows peaks and several filters plus 180 phase (IMHO one of the most essential set up tools)

no this one did not have a remote

yes, this one was a downshooter like the traditional RELs

I thought it integrated well with my 2 channel system and have no doubt it would have ripped in a 5.1

I bought directly from the distributor what seems to be a discontinued model - as Itball noted, they seem to be in the process of getting their US distribution together - not sure what the grand design is.

I sold the unit - must say there was little demand from the AGon community - but would not hesitate to buy another - I went the other way to bigger floor standers

I have an MJ Acoustics REF100 in a 20 X 25 living room and it sounds wonderful and plenty powerful for music with my floorstanding Dynaudio Focus 220s.

The MJ Acoustics sub opens up the sound of my floorstanders and changes them into sounding like speakers that came with very tight, authoritative, and musical 10" woofers.

I had a Velodyne SPL-800R subwoofer (the supposed winner of a shootout with the MJ) and didn't like it and sold it because it wasn't musical enough for me. In fact, I have tried several subs including a Velodyne HGS-11 and a Martin Logan Depth sub and sold them because they stood out like a sore thumb on certain musical passages and didn't integrate well. No so with MJ Acoustics subwoofers. Unlike the others, you don't turn it down to get it to blend in with music, you turn it up and let it sing. I will never play music without my MJ Acoustics sub again. I am so spoiled my Dynaudio floorstanders now sound weak and inadequate without the sub. They give you the perfect "Wow, thats what music is supposed to sound like!" No, the MJ is not the best Dinosaur stomping sub around but it is adequate when you turn it up for home theater. But for listening to music and integrating with your speakers, the MJ Acoustics subs are PURE GOLD.