The REL subs prefer to run off of the speaker out terminals in mono (red, black,yellow). They are parallel to the speaker wires and attach to the amp with the speaker wires. The instructions on the Sumiko website are very complete. Mine is small and unobtrusive, closed box design. It is tuned so that no one can really hear it or locate it until you turn it off. It is crossed over at 50 Hz and goes down to about 30 Hz cleanly, perhaps below that but the dB drops off quickly. Another very affordable choice is Hsu Research subs, which I also own, but they are ported. Their smallest one was a little too big for my library and it was hard to keep the volume low enough but it is well made, well supported, affordable and attractive in their wood finishes. The addition of another sub should smooth out the peaks and valleys of your bass response.
Subwoofer questions -- music only
I have a wonderful pair of Von Schweikert VR-1 standmount monitors that I currently augment with a single Martin Logan Abyss subwoofer. I'm curious about running a stereo sub configuration.
I'm not a bass freak, although I recognize the need for that octave below 60 Hz or so. I would like to hear what benefits stereo subwoofers might provide. I also don't have an unlimited budget. So . . . can anyone recommend a pair of subs at $1,000 or less that I might compare to my single Abyss? One choice would obviously be another Abyss. Is there something better at that price point? Again, I don't really care about pipe organ music, so a 10" sub would probably suffice, but I do need the ability to come off my amp OR my preamp. Thoughts? Thanks.
I'm not a bass freak, although I recognize the need for that octave below 60 Hz or so. I would like to hear what benefits stereo subwoofers might provide. I also don't have an unlimited budget. So . . . can anyone recommend a pair of subs at $1,000 or less that I might compare to my single Abyss? One choice would obviously be another Abyss. Is there something better at that price point? Again, I don't really care about pipe organ music, so a 10" sub would probably suffice, but I do need the ability to come off my amp OR my preamp. Thoughts? Thanks.
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That dual SVS sealed 12" set is a good deal. I have a friend who matches that sub with his Magnepan 1.7's. Another possibility, and spot-on with your budget, is a pair of these sealed 10" subs by Emotiva. A recent issue of Home Theater did a comparo of a Paradigm SuperCube (about $1K), an $1800 REL, and the awesome JL Fathom F212. The Fathom was the best. At $1800 the REL offered up a steeply-sloped spike centered on about 44 Hz, and the ported Paradigm had a more usable, fairly flat, broad response curve held up by a couple of damped resonant peaks. What caught my eye, however, was a separate review of an Emotiva 5.1 set of speakers, and the $499 XRef 10 had a reasonably flat, easy to blend curve more like the JL (but not with the JL's dynamic power). I suspect a pair of those would work well with what you want to do. I gotta say, however, that for $150 more I'd probably try the SVS pair first. |
Those Emotiva subs are interesting. I find much of their gear gaudy, but at least they allow returns. (I returned their preamp because it looked like a nuclear plant when the lights were off.) They also have a nice discount going if you can find your way to $1,500 (15%) or $2,000 (20%). Might get my brother-in-law to go in on an order with me. Thanks. |
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