I received my LRS’s yesterday after a 3 month wait due to demand. I hooked them up to my BHK250 and the sound I got on first attempt blew me away!!! I cant wait to hear what they will sound like when broken in. These are amazing speakers and, even though I will eventually run them with a subwoofer, the bass they put out is not bad at all. Highly recommended. For the $650 price I dont think there is anything in the market that can get close to them…
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Thanks for posting feedback on the Maggies. I’m also considering some. Did you end up adding subs?
Loving my LRSs with a pair of REL T/5i woofers.
Driving them with a Stellar Gain Cell/M700 pair. The RELs mate beautifully using the speaker outputs and in my setup I didn’t have to use an RCA cable for ground (hum reduction) when floating the REL ground as required with the M700s. No hum and the system is deathly quiet.
RELs in the corners as recommended and setup was a breeze following the REL instructions. I have dialed both the REL x-over point and output level down a couple of clicks after my initial setup. Still fall within the REL recommendations though.
It is really difficult not to set woofers not to woof too much when you first get a taste of that really low bass!
Excuse my ignorance. How exactly do you have the rel hooked up? Preamp to rel? Amp to rel? If it is the latter - can you explain? Thx Tim
REL woofers have the ability to connect to the power amplifier’s speaker outputs, a fairly unique ability that ensures that the woofer sees the same output signal as the primary speakers. You can find more information on the REL website, or perhaps by searching for “REL” on this forum.
I believe that it was a post on these forums from @Paul McGowan that initially led me to REL. From there, I searched their site and read some of their installation manuals. The customer service folks at PS Audio would be glad to help you if you give them a call, too.
It was the ability to hook up to the speaker outputs that sold me on the REL woofers. There is a lot of information regarding this method of connecting subwoofers on their website. I am a firm believer that a stereo pair of smaller subwoofers makes for a more coherent balance than a single larger woofer. And in my case, using monoblock amplifiers, it was by far the preferred setup. I am tickled pink.
The RELs were far easier to setup and balance than any other woofers I’ve ever worked with.
BW
Ah. I found a video. I wonder what this does to the impedance the amp sees if for example I’m running a 4 ohm load
Virtually no effect on impedance seen at the amps speaker outputs.
There are a number of REL videos on their website or on YouTube that explain how they manage to connect using the speaker outputs on an amplifier.
I wondered the same thing until I did a little research since you are connecting the REL(s) in parallel with the main speakers.
BW
Thanks again for sharing! I also learned about REL through Paul’s videos and am now a very happy owner of a t7i paired with LS50’s for my office setup.
I’m really intrigued by Maggies and may end up buying some .7’s with REL subs in the future so glad to hear that you’re happy with your setup.
I have an old ACI Titan Powered 12" Subwoofer and the combination with the LRS does not sound bad. I would like to use an active crossover to divide the signals but cant find one that would fit my budget. I used to have a Bryston 10B (which I should have never sold…) and cant find one for the right price. If anyone can recommend any other crossover I could use I would appreciate it. Thanks in advance.
I was able to get a Bryston 10B active crossover for use in my system. I know the Magnepan LRS are “supposed” to go down to 50Hz and I have initally set up my crossover at that point. Has anyone used any other crossover point to a subwoofer with the LRS? Results? Thanks in advance!
My Maggies are arriving on Friday (finally). I am planning on running my subs up to 80 to 100hz. I don’t want to stress the LRS’s too much. I might look into an external crossover like the Bryston. Any other good external x-overs out there? Are external x-overs a good idea?
I use the miniDSP 2x4 to manage crossover and gain of 4 subwoofers. I start with REW software and a UMIK-1 mic to calibrate the system. And then fine tune the settings by ear using a USB extender cable running from my laptop at my listening position to the miniDSP.
With subs for the best sound, you really match the sub size(s) to the room, not as much the speaker.
Too big a room and too small a sub will overdrive the sub and sound really bad. Most of the sonic benefits are running the subs where they are most linear and lowest in THD. The rest is the patina and how it matches the speaker. But, a brand that matches the speaker and is too small won’t sound near as good as a sub the matches the ROOM and isn’t over driven and maybe isn’t as ideal for the speaker. We’re talking good subs that are all CLOSE in performance.
Sure, BOTH right is awesome, but don’t forget to match the size to the room, not too big and not too small. Bad stuff happens on either side of that.
The ROOM is your primary benefactor to bass. Not the sub, not the speaker. The room has the upper hand in sub selection. My room ate my 10" subs for a snack. I went to FOUR active 12" drivers, two per sub, to pressurize the room right. The opposite would be true in a smaller room.
I use Martin Logan CLX with subs, so I know what the room speaks! And, I know what the CLX speaks, too. For my set-up, I went manual over DSP and upped the cross-over point to 55 Hz (went up till I heard no difference then backed it off 5 Hz), as the CLX aren’t flat enough low enough to go lower than that. The higher sub cross-over point adds a ton of SLAM to the bass that is upper register derived. Too little upper harmonics to bass makes it disconnected to the fundamental and BOOMY. Your ear needs that connection so give in to it. Don’t cross-over too low with panel or smaller speakers.
Don’t get too cocky thinking how low you think your passive speakers really go in the bass. Few are flat much below 45 Hz. The majority of subs are crossed-over too LOW, and this makes them BOOM, BOOM way down there where they aren’t invisible to the speaker.
Turn the cross-over point UP, and the volume DOWN is usually the solution to integration. My subs were not too good at integration until I took matters into my own hands and turned OFF the DSP and set it to my ear. HUGE benefit to the changes.
Subs are indeed great. But adding ABOVE where we think they are working is a benefit to integration. They aren’t ONLY about the LOWS. Good subs play UP well, too.
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Lots of recommendations for Rythmik. Yet the OP specifically mentioned smaller faster Subs. Is there anything in the rhythmic line that’s less than a 12 inch sub? If not, how about some other suggestions? Because I want an 8 or 10 inch sub as well for my lrs speakers you
I got rid of my LRS’s, but I have a Martin Logan 10" sub in my den that is a VERY good performer and seems fast enough to work with Maggies.
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out of curiosity, do you know if that person chose the LRS over some of the more expensive models? Its kind of amazing to me that they went with the ~$650 pair to match with Cary gear - though I have not heard them
I’m surprised a tube amp drove this difficult speaker, when even the BHK 250 had a hard time with it.
That’s the trick with the $650 LRS price. They strongly prefer expensive gear to drive them.
Rower’s opening comment on importance of matching subwoofer diameter to size of room rather than just the full-range speaker is important. When I was considering subwoofer, I had so many concerns that The John Hunter of REL called me.
John spent over 20 minutes asking me questions before answering mine so that his answers would be helpful. He even waited patiently while I wrote down his answers for later review! Initially he suggested the Ti7. When he learned that my ceiling is almost 10’ high, he changed his recommendation to the Ti9. He said that additional room volume added to my room size required the Ti9. He said he was a bit embarrassed because it could appear that he was being self-serving. But he was repeatedly firm in his suggestion that it was about total room volume.
I took his advice. Ordered 2 Ti9s. I am VERY happy with my RELs.
Setup for me was time-consuming to get into the right “neighborhood”. But over time it was easy to hear when the bass was too heavy (even if I sometimes liked it depending on what I was listening to). It was very easy to gradually integrate the RELs with my Maggie 1.7s, by turning the cross-over up a click and the volume down a click.
My only complaint with the RELS is the elegantly tiny font of the control lettering on the back. It is fine when facing the back head-on, but not when installed and you are leaning over the top, head upside down, near the wall, with inadequate light and my glasses falling off because my head is upside-down! VERY annoying, but certainly not a reason to go elsewhere. Remember, it is about meticulous product execution, back-up from John Hunter himself, and sizing to the room.
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