Definitely at least two subs, and three or four is even better if you can swing it. I’d go for 15” subs but no smaller than 12” because they’ll go lower and work more effortlessly with lower distortion than smaller subs. I think Rhytmik subs offer the best performance/$ although they don’t as yet offer software to help dial them in, which is not necessary but can be very helpful. Arendal subs have also gotten good reviews and seem to offer high value, and I’d also consider Paradigm and Perlisten. B&W is overpriced relative to alternatives IMO, and JL Audio has had significant reliability issues that may be more prevalent in their lower-level subs but worth checking before going that route. I want my subs to hit an honest 20Hz because there’s important information down there that improves sense of space/soundstage, and to get there with REL you gotta spend big bucks relative to these other excellent alternatives. If it’s me I’d go with a Swarm from Audiokinesis, but if that’s not possible I’d go with a pair of 15” Rythmiks and take the thousands you’ll save and upgrade other equipment or go on a nice vacation. Hope this helps, and best of luck.
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Welcome to the dark side. The answer to your question is, it depends on what your goals are, what you listen to and how loud you listen. If you prefer aggressive bass driven music, like blues, rock, EDM, and even modern country, specially at higher volume levels, bigger will be better. Be warned. A good subwoofer system will expose room node issues, which is why more is better than less, up to four. I would read this before doing anything. A great subwoofer system can be immensely rewarding, they can also be immensely frustrating. I have been using subs for decades and much to my chagrin, I’m still learning. |
This may be true, but for me it is subordinate to them helping with room modes. Two is good, three is great, four is...marginally better. Helpful: |
Swarm, DBA, Audio Kinesis, and James Romeyn… https://jamesromeyn.com/speakers/subwoofers/general-info-subwoofers/ I made the change about 4 years ago with help from JR Bosclaire (Wally Tools). And when I say help, I mean he did all the work and I held the mic all over the room. The thing that blows me away to this day, aside from the dynamic sonic improvement, is how little it cost me relative to my system and to mainstream audio products. I totally get the feeling that four subs is a lot. I debated that as well. I also felt my family would lose their shi$ if I added more “boxes” to our family room (we have an open floor plan). An advantage of a DBA is the subs are asymmetrically placed around the room and the size of Jame’s implementation are not really that big (especially compared to what’s out there commercially). There was definitely resistance at first, but I got lucky. My wife and kids recognized this hobby is a passion of mine and after a while we all sort of just forgot about them. Just remember everything takes time. Anyhow that’s a little more context for you to think about. So, one is better than none. Two is better than one. And so on… I hope you will let us know what you decide and report back. |
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