I’ve got another question that should probably stir some opinionated discussion. How much do cables matter? The cable that ships with my REL T/7x is this:
Interestingly, on Audio Advice the cable by itself is more than half the total cost of the subwoofer, so I just have to hold out hope that what went into producing the sub is heavily discounted. OK, just being a smart-ass, but I wonder whether there might be any value in looking into better cabling. I realize that the purpose of this cable is not to “play” the audio, but to provide the signal to the subwoofer to “sample” before doing its thing, but I’m sure someone will pipe up and say the QUALITY of that signal is everything and when they bought a new one with 2 AWG wire and solid gold spades, it opened the soundstage and everything became more transparent. But my thought is that it just needs to be able to cleanly get the data from point A to point B… but then that distance is probably going to end up being 30 ft., so wouldn’t better conduction make sense?
I’ve sent an email to Pine Tree Audio that can make pretty good custom cables to see what he thinks. We all know what he’ll say, but he’s pretty honest about not making something that’s worthless.
I have used the stock cable, a custom Kimber cable, and a long custom cable that blue jeans cable made for me. I thought the stock cable was fine. I haven’t perceived any specific differences in cables, however, each time I changed cables I changed the placement of the sub which did change the sound of course.
Others will probably have more helpful observations.
Oh, and the cable you are referring to on Audio Advice is an upgraded cable called REL Acoustics Bassline Blue. That is not the stock cable, hence the price. How it is an upgraded cable compared to stock I do not know.
Thanks much, Tom! On Amazon, it said it comes with the 30-ft. cable, but I guess that’s not Bassline (or maybe it’s just not blue).
Now (sigh), I am STILL preparing to figure out how to hook the single REL to my M1200 mono-blox. I did find Paul’s YouTube video on the subject, where he says it’s possible, but he doesn’t exactly say what to hook to what - he says to refer to the REL website. In the comments below the video there are further statememts that it can be done, but I’m not sure I understand it. So I asked Google AI, and I’m sure hoping to get a “fer-sher” reply here on the forum before it arrives:
Question: How to hook up a single REL T/7x to a mono-block amplifier with balanced outputs?
AI Answer: To connect a single REL T/7x to a mono-block amplifier with balanced outputs, use the high-level connection by connecting the red wire to the positive (+) terminal of the right monoblock and the yellow wire to the positive (+) terminal of the left monoblock. Crucially, connect the black wire to an unused chassis ground screw on the right monoblock or leave it floating to prevent a ground hum and potential damage.
Sorry to anyone if you’ve already answered this and I’m just too dumb to read it correctly.
Like I did, perhaps contact REL directly for the best advice.
I have a Rowland integrated amp, so it seemed to be an unusual setup. I’m glad I checked with the manufacturer, because I would have done it differently had I relied on the instructions… I think.
How much do they matter to you and what is your experience with them. I ran a pair of REL T/5i’s with REL cables and was just fine with them, but it was assigned to my “casual” listening system. The pair are now long gone, as thety fell victim to my consolidation effort which continues to this day.
Hey, yeah, I figured the instructions had been written somewhere, but well, I’m lazy, and 65 years old. Thanks for copying and re-posting. By the way, I have contacted Pine Tree Audio about building a special cable. He’s done many for REL applications. I’ll report back what he quotes me. My system is pretty much 100% Pine Tree cables now, very affordable and he guarantees you’ll hear a difference. Is it the level of difference I’d hear with Kimber or Audioquest, etc.? Probably not quite, but it’s sure easier on my budget.
You’re right, but I have to be careful. What I really want is to have the music present itself in my room as closely as possible to the way the mixers and masterers heard it in its final version. What might initially please me, in my opinion, can be fleeting, on the surface. In building a room and choosing equipment, and setting up DSP room correction with this goal in mind, although it might not sound like the “killer stereo” of that guy down the hall in the dorm, it better expresses the interesting nuances in a recording, and is ultimately more satisfying. Here’s an example of what I have to watch out for: often when I get up from my listening chair to adjust volume - my Convergent Audio pre-amp ain’t got no remote - I hear more bass, and man, it sounds great…for a few seconds. But I have to remind myself that’s not the level IN the recording. Certainly they made things flexible enough to accommodate personal preferences, but when my personal preference is accuracy, I need to resist the temptation to go back to the dorm. I’ve grown up I guess. And I don’t have any girls to impress.
Well, I never said your sonic preferences weren’t better than mine! This is why I hang out on this forum when I can - to learn from others. My sonic preferences have improved significantly.
If you enjoy a fair amount of classical music/orchestral recordings, and you are going to use just one subwoofer to augment your stereo listening using mono block amplifiers, consider dedicating the subwoofer to the right channel and/or right side of the room, in general.
I read once that the orientation of the musicians and instruments on stage and as captured in recordings of orchestras is such that “the bass” is generally more stage left/house right.
To the extent that some lower frequencies handled by a subwoofer are, indeed, “directional”, there is arguably some advantage to placing a subwoofer stage left/house right.
