Older vs. newer REL subs

The good news is that my 3 REL subs from basically the same era, two Q150e 10" masterpieces (had one for years, just bought a second one) and one Q108MK2 8" all work beautifully and were bought used el cheapo. The bad news is that REL won’t service them. If one dies I would try to find somebody to fix it, but they’ve essentially paid for themselves relative to what new ones cost. In my home studio pile I have a 92lb beast Mackie HRS 120 (not a portable P.A. Mackie, this thing is far more adjustable) with a 12" woofer and 12" passive radiator and 400 or so A/B watts that goes down to 19hz...I found it at a used instrument shop for 200 bucks and I’m pretty sure they didn’t know how it worked...a lot of woof per dollar...I don’t think subs necessarily have to match as I’ve used the 150 and 108 together in my hifi rig for years and you simply have to have them dialed in properly.

“I'm not in the market to buy two $2500 subs to replace a single older $2k sub; I would entertain two newer $1500 subs, however.”

this makes you the perfect candidate for a pair of T9x subs. As a T/9i satisfied user, I can say these are excellent and a few refinements in the new x series. 

The current Rel T Series are aimed for home theatre systems whereas the S series are aimed at quality stereo systems and are priced accordingly. The S series are more expensive as you will see but the S series are spanking good the higher you go.

Sunfire are good but I gesture more simplistic (sorry Mr Carver). My personal choice are the MK Subwoofers despite having Rel’s and SVS. 
I still have the original MK Volkswoofer I and satellites sounding as good and when I bought them new.

if I had the $$ my choice of all would be the Kyron Audio Mercury sub. I’m just waiting for a special sale to come up! 🤗

AG 🇦🇺

@amg56 I don't see in REL's literature where it says the "T" series are "aimed" for home theater. They say it can do both. Do others with T series subs believe they bought a sub for home theater by mistake?

I know that Rel has an "HT" series. When I use their speaker matching tool, I input that "music" is the purpose and their recommendations come out with T models.

T series: "goals were...to deliver as much as possible of our latest Series S on a budget.
T/9x: "delivers the goods in both music and theatre applications...it opens the pathway for owners of high performance European floor and stand mounted monitors and smaller panel speakers to enjoy truly full range sound."

Would I get a better sub if I spent an additional $1k per sub? Sure. Would it be more "music-focused"? That's what I'm not seeing and, for my budget, it doesn't make sense.

@wolf_garcia   Thanks for your input. I know that eventually subs can shake themselves apart and that difficulty in getting service is a consideration for a used one.

@b_limo Salk. Can't. The wait for the speakers was worth it,  but even before Covid, people wait a long time for his stuff. For me, these are not worth the wait, and a trial period would be out of the question because the shipping is insand. TMR sells RELs and I can drive to go get them, try them out, and return them.  I think of subs as a kind of good utility. I don't need beautiful cabinets on the subs. Plus, they will be harder to match for someone else. I'm just not at the point of adding more eye candy to my room, which is really an audio lab and not a pretty space for guests. So, I think Salks are off the table. Plus, REL's customer service is really a full time part of their operation. This is not to slight Jim, of course, but they're just in the sole business of subs.

Given how often I have moved my subs, 75lbs is a deal breaker. And they're too big. But it was fun to read about them a bit.

I work for an REL dealer and we have been bombarded with propaganda from them explaining the new T/x model's design evolution. Nothing would lead me to conclude amg56 is correct about their being targeted at HT.  They make HT-centric models.  These are music focused as are all their subs (except the HTs, which aren’t bad for music btw), with light cones for speed, and their secret sauce crossover and speaker level input.  The amp is unchanged. The x has a slightly larger cabinet volume and optimized driver and passive radiator compared to the i version.  Not night and day...incrementally better.  Still a fine value and product.