Ha ha! Do i detect a hint of sarcasm? Not that the paragraph didn't deserve it
! I won't say that I'm not happy with my subs but it does tend to leave me a little worse for wear when I try to justisy the cost vis-a-vis the extension achieved, especially when I play music in a gathering and the bass fails to turn the audiences insides to liquid. Fact of the matter is, this is a sub which will excel with most genres of music but won't provide the last mile of satisfaction during deep house, trance and hip hop tracks where infrasonics are often in play. It favours ultimate speed and integration and trades it for that last octave of low frequency information.
Instead of aspiring for what may be considered to be an audiophile gold standard, level with yourself and identify what is it that you really want i.e. are you a tone whore or would you trade that last mile of speed, integration and nuance which is barely noticeable to most people for deeper extension and louder output without sacrificing much on the aforesaid aspects. If you're the former and value integration over everything else, the T9i/T9x will fit the bill and save you some $$$ over more expensive RELs. However, its talents are not immediately evident and can be appreciated only over time and if you listen to music with concentration i.e. they are definitely not obvious from the get go and other subs at a similar price range are more impressive on a casual listen. On the other hand, 2x the amount will get you the S/510 or s/810 which will do all that the T series does but also get you that low frequency extension.
Before going for the REL T9i, I'd auditioned the XTZ 1x12, XTZ 12.17 and an SVS PB12 Plus at the same price point and was simply blown away by the low frequency extension and gutteral response. If you want to knock the socks off your audience and are not a very intent listener yourself i.e. you mostly listen to music causally and seldom find yourself alone in long intimate listening sessions, these are the subs to go for. I'd also tried out the SVS PB2000 and XTZ 10.17 but didn't find them doing much for me.
Coming back to REL, three things are important to note vis-a-vis their subs - firstly, the frequency extension is conservatively quoted by REL. For example, the REL T9i is rated at 28hz at -6db but extends to 25hz at-0db extension before plummeting off a cliff in my room. Since the S/510 is rated at 20hz at -6db, i'd hazard a guess that it extends well below that figure.
Secondly, REL prices are priced cheaper offline than the online prices or MRP. A safe bet would be to consider a discount of approx 25% on their range so plan your purchase accordingly and negotiate if the said 25% is offered up front.
Thirdly, a 10 inch sub will go louder than an 8 inch sub with the same power. Similarly, a 12 inch driver will go louder than a 10 inch driver. However, this is not an inviolable rule and the weight of the driver and the materials used also matter. As REL uses extremely lightweight material in their cones and goes to the extent of not painting their drivers to save that extra ounce of weight, my REL T9i at 300 watts could go much much louder than my Yamaha NS-SW300 which was rated at only 50Ws lesser at 250W. Considering the above, the REL Predator offers good bang for buck as it has a massive 15 inch driver and 800Watts of continuous power. As to its speed and integration, as Nitins experience would indicate, its right up there and perhaps trades that last mile of speed for huge output and low frequency extension. Don’t be mistaken by the ‘HT’ monicker, It’ll still be better than most subs with respect to music and unless you have a very very keen ear or hear it back to back against a Ti/Tx/S series sub, you’d probably not be able to tell the difference.
Again, If you can make peace without that absolute last mile of integration, you can save yourself some serious dough and get yourself the Predator for half the price. Conversely, you can get yourself two Predators for slightly more than the price of one S/810 and eventually build up to a line array. For what is a line array, check out the vids below:
Hardly so. I'm very much a noob, especially compared to certain audiophiles that the city harbours.
Sure! I'll hit you up.
