Choice of subwoofer

[Jolyon Boyle]

Good afternoon folks,

 

I am looking at purchasing a REL T-zero or T5 sub to pair with a Rega Brio amp and pair of Focal Aria 906 bookshelf speakers.

 

The minimum frequency response of the speakers is 55hz. 

 

I would be using the sub for music predominately. 

 

The T-zero and T5 subs provide a minimum frequency response of 38hz and 32hz respectively. 

 

The question is can you have too much bass. And is the frequency response the best measure to compare subs. Is it more to with the size of the woofer. 

My living space is around 30m2 with wooden floors, which could influence the type of sub I should choose. 

 

Any tips, advice and past experiences would be appreciated. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Jol 

 

 

[haygeebaby]

Hi Jol - can't believe you have not had one reply yet from the friendly folk on stereonet.

Focal 906 - nice book shelf man.

From my experience I think you will love the REL subwoofers.

The T5i is probably a good match for your room size - even the REL calculator recommends this model and a single unit.

 

I think the room is going to be the biggest factor in any setup. 

Yes you can have too much bass - some rooms have boom and it can be tricky to fix bass problems.

Matching a sub to your speaker and room is a good tip.

 

Only way to know for sure it to try in your own room and then fine tune things.

I would recommend to go higher in the REL range if funds allow - that way you can go lower in frequency if desired - and future proof your investment for years to come.  But I think you'll be fine with the T5/I in this scenario.

 

Your initial problems will be to find the ideal position for the subwoofer and then fine tuning the crossover point and volume level.

I would recommend you read the guides on the REL website and youtube to guide you through this.

They are logical and based on their best practices.

Also - don't be shy to email John Hunter and ask questions. He gets back to you quickly and provides good support.

 

Good luck

 

 

 

[haygeebaby]

Forgot to mention - a good thing to do will be to demo a few subwoofers in your room to help you decide.

Find a good supplier near you that will help you with this.

 

If you have problems with wooden floors then look at isolation - like Auralex subdudeII or similar products.

After burn in and fine tuning - you may want to look at upgrading the speaker cable, upgrading power cable, and fuse.

 

Good luck bro

Edited May 6, 2020 by haygeebaby

[robmid]

Hi.

I have a pair of T-Zeros with a pair of Mini ESL panels and they have no problem loading our large lounge area which is about 5 metres by 15 metres. They are very fast and don't lag behind the main speakers because of the 6.5 inch cones.

 

Positioning is critical to extract ultimate performance. Simple instructions are provided. Mine are running low level inputs but the speaker level inputs do sound better with coned speakers.

 

Very pleased with mine.

Cheers,

Rob

[Jolyon Boyle]

Thanks for everyone’s friendly advice and comments. I will check out those other options. Better quality power, speaker and RCA cables will be the next port of call. 
 

Cheers, 

 

Jol

[andyr]

On 29/04/2020 at 12:02 PM, JolB said:

Good afternoon folks,

 

I am looking at purchasing a REL T-zero or T5 sub to pair with a Rega Brio amp and pair of Focal Aria 906 bookshelf speakers.

 

The minimum frequency response of the speakers is 55hz. 

 

I would be using the sub for music predominately. 

 

My living space is around 30m2 with wooden floors, which could influence the type of sub I should choose.

 

My system is music only - and I have 2x 15" sealed subs in a room which is about 23 sq m. 

 

On 29/04/2020 at 12:02 PM, JolB said:

I am looking at purchasing a REL T-zero or T5 sub to pair with a Rega Brio amp and pair of Focal Aria 906 bookshelf speakers.

 

The minimum frequency response of the speakers is 55hz.

 

Then surely you want a sub (better 2, for allowing you to better even out room responses) whose LP filter is also set at 55Hz ... with a 24dB slope?

 

On 29/04/2020 at 12:02 PM, JolB said:

The T-zero and T5 subs provide a minimum frequency response of 38hz and 32hz respectively.

 

Don't quite understand this?  Are you saying:

• the lowest these subs go to is 38Hz / 32Hz?  In which case, they can barely be called 'subs' IMO! 
• or are you saying the lowest roll-off frequency that can be set is 38Hz / 32Hz?  In which case that would be fine - as you need to set them at 55Hz.

 

On 29/04/2020 at 12:02 PM, JolB said:

The question is can you have too much bass. And is the frequency response the best measure to compare subs. Is it more to with the size of the woofer.

 

Yes to all 3 questions.  You get "too much bass " by setting the volume control on the subs too high, relative to the main spkrs.

 

On 29/04/2020 at 12:02 PM, JolB said:

My living space is around 30m2 with wooden floors, which could influence the type of sub I should choose. 

 

 

I suggest it will not "influence the type of sub I should choose "!  But it will influence what is the best mounting you can use for the sub(s).  (Like - should you mount them on an isolating platform, to minimise interaction with your wooden floor?)

 

Andy

 

[Al.M]

Each brand and model design sub response in a room can be different and generally people recommend the larger size woofer among choices in theory to move more air to pressurise the room filling it with enough subjective feel of bass or low frequency sounds.

 

When trying to match with any speaker, subjectively it’s down to trial and error and there’s no guarantee it will work to your liking until in the room. Depending on which item you value most either sub or speakers, maybe allow some ability with the shop to change it out if one combo doesn’t work with the other.

 

I’ve heard the T7 (8 inch woofer passive radiator in sealed cabinet design) in a 5x5m room and it easily pressurised the room to good effect and seems to have good musical qualities vs other subs that may tend to be more HT oriented.

 

Both Rel subs have low frequency specs quoted at -6dB so that is a useful figure meaning it is audible at those frequency in theory vs other brands that don’t state so a —dB figure and not a useful spec. I would go for the T5 model at 32Hz which appears to be more capable and should give better impression of lower sounds. 

 

Also consider other suggestions for subs like SVS using much larger woofers that may pressurise the room more, but not necessarily better for music enjoyment.

Edited May 8, 2020 by Al.M

[spottie]

On 29/04/2020 at 10:02 AM, JolB said:

Good afternoon folks,

 

I am looking at purchasing a REL T-zero or T5 sub to pair with a Rega Brio amp and pair of Focal Aria 906 bookshelf speakers.

 

The minimum frequency response of the speakers is 55hz. 

 

I would be using the sub for music predominately. 

 

The T-zero and T5 subs provide a minimum frequency response of 38hz and 32hz respectively. 

 

The question is can you have too much bass. And is the frequency response the best measure to compare subs. Is it more to with the size of the woofer. 

My living space is around 30m2 with wooden floors, which could influence the type of sub I should choose. 

 

Any tips, advice and past experiences would be appreciated. 

 

Cheers, 

 

Jol 

 

 

My 2-cent suggestion is that if possible you should consider an upper model T9. If it is above your budget, you may consider a second hand one, which is around $1000

In my opinion, there are several reasons for considering a good sub above the minimum requirements based purely on specs: smaller subs won't move air that great as big subs do, there is no need to worry about too much bass because you can always control the output level of your sub to integrate smoothly with your main speakers (in addition, this is actually better because the THD is usually less when your sub is not pushed to its max capacity), and finally if you happen to upgrade your main speakers in the future then you won't have to sell your sub. When you buy a sub, I suppose you do not just want to hear your music, but also feel it and big subs do a better job. Also, there is no question that closed-box design is the way to go for music. I have a 12'' SVS sub and I've been enjoying it for the last 10 years. When it comes to bass integration, it is very important that you do it properly and I cannot recommend enough the following 

https://www.hifizine.com/2011/06/bass-integration-guide-part-1/