Has Rel fallen out of favor with audiophiles?
I agree with this recent review of the REL T9i https://2y2ro62wfbas3svllg2i0s1t-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HIFI-142-Awards_... They certainly haven't fallen out of favor. |
The adjustability of RELs, especially the older ones like mine (certain newer models dispense with some knobulation) , enables you (or, in my case, me) to easily "tune" them to the listening environment. My main speakers, although rated to 38hz or something (lame rating..they’re Silverline Preludes with 3.75" woofers) barely make a peep at 38hz. The sweet spot is around 50hz for the RELs step in. The wireless thing (Longbow?) they offer with new RELs might be a selling point for them, but REL is missing out on a pile of sales to current owners of their older stuff by not making one of these work with RELs like mine (it is, after all, all about me)…I’d buy one immediately, which would seriously free up placement options. |
... arte -- You touch upon something I went through myself in trying to find a proper sub for my all-horn main speakers. Horn bass typically exhibits very little smearing/overhang of the sound they create, helped along by light(er) diaphragms + voice coils that move very little and therefore has less inertia. I then opted to look for sealed subs (or variants hereof) exclusively to emulate as closely the sonic nature (transient speed) of my main speakers, but moreover had to consider the latter’s high efficiency, large radiation area and sheer output capabilities. Horn subs were naturally included in my thoughts, but eventually discarded due to practical constraints (i.e.: size issues). OB subs were discarded for the same reason, at least in my interiors. Classic sealed subs it had to be then, with 15" driver minimum size, and powerful ones at that (driver + amp). A larger driver needs less cone movement for the same output compared to a smaller unit, the added mass of the larger diaphragm I believe still outweighing the drawbacks of inertia (and more violent air displacement) from more cone movement via smaller drivers. Still, what amounted from these considerations led to circling subs using large drivers that could rightly be viewed as the antithesis of the more classic horn bass drivers, with their typically smaller and lighter voice coils + diaphragms, and considerably inferior power handling (which is not needed with horns), and limited cone travel. Here are sub bass drivers with 2-4" more or less linear cone travel, large voice coils (if not in diameter then in height and winding thickness) and huge magnets. And yet, for a 1,500 watts powered 16" driver with an 8"(!) voice coil, the sealed SVS SB16-Ultra sub - which I ended up buying and has used in my setup for now 4 months - I got me both 16Hz (in-room even below that number) and up to some 63Hz (low pass cut) with brutish control, excellent integration and unstrained performance at any desired output level (had space permitted I might even have added a 2nd SB16-Ultra, but in my current listening room is not strictly needed). I guess there is something to be said about the advancement in this particular area of sound reinforcement that defies typical wisdom of driver implementation, output level and the desired frequency span. In other words, from what I can gather, you can have your cake and eat it too with the present state of subwoofers. |
Artemis_5 No worries. Your loss not mine. i thought my setup was listed but perhaps I made a mistake. I use large ATC and have their largest subwoofer. Woofers are all 15 inch... I suspect REL work best with speakers that have 6 inch or smaller woofers. The compression at higher levels will be in good synergy with the limitations of a smaller woofer. |
