2. home-theater
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Beating a Dead Horse. SUBS

Vandersteen, Rel or whatever. Has anyone actually ever a/b the 2 subs side by side. Not talking the vandy 2w which has a 12in passive. I'm talking about the vandy 2wq which only has 3 8inch subs and also the rel storm III with the 10in.. I don't care about ht sound, just music. Must be quick/fast, accurate, detailed, not muddy or still vibrating after the fact. I do have Martin speakers and would be adding 2 subs for music. I've listened to the rel storm III @ tweeter and it sucked, but I know for a fact they did not have it hooked up correctly. Though the salesman mentioned all the great features, he had no idea how to use them; neither did I. I'm sure set up properly it would be great. But I have to think 3-8in subs must be quicker than a 10in sub, but I could be wrong. If you have auditioned these side by side I would like to know what the differences are(also did you notice if they were hooked up correctly and broken in). This thread came after reading the recent thread on vandy verses rel.. I noticed one agoner upgrade from the 2w to the 2wq and after reading extensively on the vandy subs, I can see why; he wanted music over ht. Another agoner had both the rel storm III and the q201, he stated he used the storm III for ht and the q201 for music. Why would you not use the III for music???, as it is suppose to be better than the q201. Another agoner mentioned the bag end sub as beating the both the rel and vandy in music, I don't know much about bag but isn't that an 18in sub and how could a 18 be more musical than a 10 or 8in sub. Excuse my ignorance but I do not know much about subs and everything I thought I learned about them is the smaller the sub, the more musical it would be. Sorry to continue the thread on subs, but no one ever mentions if they auditioned the 2 side/side, they just say that the rel, aerial, vandy, etc.... is the best they ever heard. Looking for help here..
Thanx Pete
pcc
no_money
638 posts
 
Hi Pete, Martin is going to make a sub. you may want to wait and see how that one sounds. I don't know any details on it though. Sorry.
abstract7
541 posts
 
ML is making a unit with 3 active drivers. I believe they are 10inch (they may be 8 inch). Given MLs commitment to music and integration (bass to panels), this will likely be the right sub for your speakers. It's due out in fall. I believe it called the "descent".
j_k
234 posts
 
The Bag End Infrasub 18 is very nice, especially x2 with music. I think it blows the Vandersteens away. The only thing I have heard that is better is the Aerial SW-12. The biggest problem with subwoofers is being able to get them placed properly and adjusted to the right levels. I have not personally heard the REL Subs, but others have told me they are on par with the Bag End. The problem with Bag End is the size of the box. I would have went with 2, but my wife said the furniture had to stay in the room also (the sub liked to be in places where there is currently furniture. The Ariel is a much smaller box that would sqeeze into areas that the Bag End would not. Vandersteens were just not enough sub for me.
jim
418 posts
 
Hi Pete. Which ML's do you have? If they CLS's, not hybrids, look for a pair of Kinergetics SW800 subs towers. Even they guys at ML will tell you that this is the sub system that best integrates with the CLS.

It should, as it (including the crossover) was designed by a CLS owner (Tony Di Chiro) specifically for the CLS's. Hell, they are even the exact same height as the CLS. Like the CLS the SW800's are line sources (to 200 cycles). The results with these subs are nothing short of amazing. However, they are no longer in production and can be hard to come by. But... well worth the effort. After trying other subs I decided to just wait it out and by sheer luck and good timing wound up with Gayle Sander's pair that were just sitting around at ML. Also, after posting a "wanted" ad on Audiogon, I did get a couple of responses. You may try to do the same.

I've listened to Vandy's & REL's in my system and while both are excellent subs they do not work well with full range ML's. If you have hybrids, you are your own as I've had no experience with these and subs. Good luck.
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