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Little help with REL subwoofers, please?

I'm not especially knowledgeable about subwoofers and I'd appreciate some advice. I've got a pair of Magnepan 1.7i placed in a small (long, rectangular) room. I had a hefty JL sub that shook the house but that I could never fully integrate. On a whim, I switched it out for a pair of the diminutive REL Tzero subs and the sound is vastly better. On some music, though, such as classical organ, I miss the growl and thunder. I don't feel like I need to boost the "upper bass" and I definitely don't want to muddy things up; it's really the deep rumble that I occasionally want.

If it helps, I'm thinking of a piece of music like Max Richter's "On the Nature of Daylight," which about halfway through delivers a broad, deep sweep of musical sound that I want to *feel.*

I'm mostly pleased with the setup and I don't want to reinvent my room's wheel or break the bank. And I'd like to stay with at least two subs and likely stay with REL. So I'm thinking I might: 1) add a T/9X or maybe a T/7X and perhaps keep the crossover low; or 2) swap out the Tzeros and replace them with a pair of T/7Xs. For now, a pair of T/9Xs is a budgetary stretch that I'd like to avoid (and it is a small room).

Would it be weird having two Tzeros combined with the much bigger T/9X? Would the T/7X produce that deep, enveloping bass? I'm not particularly good at reading specs but -6dB at 30Hz doesn't sound especially deep to me. (The JL was -3dB at 23Hz.) Or am I misunderstanding how bass works and would a T/7X go plenty deep in a small room?

Thanks and Happy New Year!

 

northman
fitmannj
6 posts
 

Hello, @northman. Just so you know, if you decide on REL T/7x's, I'm about to sell a pristine black pair. I have all of the original equipment: boxes, power cords, high level cables, manuals, etc. I'd be willing to sell the pair for $1400 + shipping costs, so this could save you a bit of money versus new. If interested, please reach out: fitmannj@icloud.com.

northman OP
271 posts
 

Thanks to you both. I bet many can relate to this: I was moving forward on the subwoofer path, closing in ... and then life stepped in. In the last five days we've had two major weather events here in northern Vermont where I live, and my house and property took a serious hit. I'm now waiting on the repair estimates before I return to the more pleasurable audio prospects. Obviously the lesson is: don't delay  the fun purchases!

fitmannj
6 posts
 

@northman I wish you the best in getting your house into tip-top condition once again...

matmo
2 posts
 

@drlou77 

My treated room is small, 11 x 14.  I have on REL S/510 with B&W 804s.  The sub is invisible in my room.  It’s tuned perfectly to integrate with my main speakers with Anthem’s Arc Genesis.

May I ask which connection method(s) you used for the REL S/510 along with your ARC-calibrated Anthem?

I just purchased a REL S/510 along with an Anthem MRX 1140 AV receiver, and I'm wondering if I really need to plug in the high-level connections as well as the LFE RCA. That is what REL recommends, however fishing that high-level cable through the walls/ceilings to the sub will not be possible for me, and as such I'm thinking of not using that connection and only using the LFE RCA.

My hope is that the Anthem MRX receiver + ARC calibration could (almost) just as well integrate the sub with the front left-right speakers by using the receiver's crossover settings and sending the bass signal through the RCA LFE connection, in effect having the sub support the front speakers and negating the need for the high-level connection. I would use the "Super Sub Fronts" setting on the Anthem MRX which sends the full range frequencies to the front speakers and duplicating the frequencies below the crossover by sending them to the sub.

I'm wondering what your experience is since you seem to have a similar setup to mine, at least with regards to the Anthem and sub!

Ag insider logo xs@2x
drlou77
113 posts
 

@matmo 

Hi.  My S/510 is connected via the LFE RCA connection.  The dealer who sold me the REL sub and tuned the Arc Genesis program in my Anthem, said that was the only connection needed.  Hopefully, that helps you.  As I said, my sub is invisible in my room and puts out plenty of bass for music and movies.

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