Subwoofer Choice


I am in the process of building out my system. I have the end goal in mind, and ticking off the equipment as I get them. I do need some advice in the subwoofer category.

I am currently driving Monitor Audio Silver 500s with a Michi X5 integrated amp (600w @ 4Ohms RMS). This is way overkill for these speakers. But my purchase (coming in August) will be the Focal Sopra No. 3s.

That being said, I am looking also to add a subwoofer and I’ve settled between two (2) REL T/9x’s or one (1) REL S/510. T/9X is $1,249 vs S/510 at $2,749.

There is a REL youtube video from their chief designer comparing (briefly) the two and actually stating that "just because one S/510 costs twice as much as 2 T/9x don’t think you can equate them with 2 vs 1". I paraphrased a bit.

But the below is only 3min long please watch and let me know!

What are your thoughts. Obviously 2 subs are better balanced than 1, I get that. But given the specs here am I better at buying up for the better 10"?

Listening room is carpet, 16’ x 24’. 384sqft. 8ft ceilings. What info did I leave out?

 

bound4h

I think that many of us have limited experience with directly comparing subs. I’ll count myself as one of this crowd, but I went through a similar selection process last year. Up front I decided that if I was going to go line level then I would want a very high level crossover like the Wilson’s, but that killed my budget. Second, I decided that I wanted a pair of subwoofers to avoid room nodes and make setup/integration easier, so I settled on REL and high level inputs. I looked at their smaller subs, but found that as I went to their more expensive subs their drivers/amplifiers became faster and the 3dB down point dropped a bit. I reasoned that faster was important when integrating with my speakers.

I'm a big fan of REL products. If it's within your price point I'd recommend purchasing a pair of the S/510s. If that's not doable purchase one S/510 now and the second one when you can afford it. 

Highend64 

 

yes agreed, adding a crossover could possibly be heard. I can only speak of the JL and my system (Mcintosh Revel) I can’t hear a change at all. If you have a very highend system maybe it would be different. The down side is good analog crossovers are expensive. Digital one are fine in theory but I get concerned about the quality of the output stage of these cheap digital units. I mean every time I change interconnects or try some “giant killer” wire it degrades my sound….

 

I was unable to get smooth bass (measured and heard) running the sub off the preamp crossing under the mains. But using a crossover got my room to +/- 6db in the bass in an afternoon. My bass is pretty flat now with a 6db hole from 64-71hz. I EQed out that dip but thought the EQ hurt the sound quality more than the dip so I just left it. I can’t hear that dip but it shows up on measurements. 

I have one (1) SB SVS 2000Pro about six feet behind me and once you get it set, it’s definitely worth the money. The software is the key.