any example? one pointing left and other pointing right?
sorry, I am new to subwoofer, only have my second sub 2 weeks ago!
thanks for any Help
now, that i have two, i have to find a third one!
i just barely understand how to hook to, now a third one will connect?
will i use RCA or terminal of the sub or the speaker, this is puzzling me!
I will google that for me!
You need three - per side, so another four!
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not all, have anchoring! to stack them..!
will search, and will hear!
Hmm, I would have to disagree with REL as to some of the technical accuracy of this. Stacking will 100% give you more output (double the woofers and double the power give you 6 dB more output and headroom). Also, at a given SPL, the distortion is lower because the displacement is halved (and applied current is lower).
However, there really isn’t a narrowing of directivity or “line array effect” just stacking a couple of subs. Yes, the effective source size is larger but a pair of 12” woofers spaced 18” apart is still very acoustically small compared to a 14’ long (~4.3 meter) wavelength at 80 Hz and not affecting directivity.
The floor is still very close to these upper woofers and floor bounce isn’t an issue in-band. There may be a slight change in vertical room modes in-room but 95% of the improvement is just having a subwoofer with double the output and not the response, attack, imaging, ambience etc. that REL mentions.
As Paul mentions, there is a stacking kit available. The sub comes with some very soft (~35 durometer) adjustable rubber feet and these work quite well. There is a kit with thick aluminum connecting plates with thumb screws and an XLR cable for daisy chaining units.
The feet on the bottom are removable (and use the same thread as our speakers), if for whatever reason you want to use third party isolation feet on the bottom subwoofer.
Apologies if @Chris_Brunhaver covered this but will the new subs utilize anything such as a Speakon connection which can be used with REL?
Is Speakon specific to REL or do other manufacturers also use it?
We do not use speakon. On our sub, we use normal stereo 5-way binding posts for the speaker level input. We also made a proprietary pinout using a 4 pin XLR (like DMX cable) for a link from our new PMG amps coming this year to make it even simpler for people with our amp and sub to use high level inputs.
Speakon is a Neutrik connector that is a twist lock connector that comes out of the pro audio world (where there can be multiple contacts and a quick locking connector). I don’t love using them in the home audio world except maybe for an active speaker project with outboard amplifiers where you need a lot of connections in one cable to simplify wiring.
Interesting! Some more thoughts:
On the connections, I understand you rather not use a pro standard (as is e.g. XLR), but for reasons of signal transfer you need to introduce a new propriatory standard. Would it really hurt to stay with the Speakons (is it quality or convenience that you’re concerned with)?
And besides connectors, what are your thoughts on the choice of cables used, knowing your crowd of cable tweakers?
We are using just binding posts so, from your speakers or amp you can use bananas, bare wire, spades - whatever you want. Binding posts are the home audio standard - nobody else I know of is using speakons for a high level to line level input on a sub amp. We find this to be easier than speakons and that also gives you your choice of cable brand.
The 4 pin connector for the PMG amps is just a simple way to put a trigger and speaker level input on one cable. A standard XLR doesn’t have enough pins. It’s still a standard cable you can buy off the shelf but the pinout we’re using is proprietary. Like a much simpler version of how we use HDMI for I2S. It’s a common cable/connector but we are using it in an uncommon way.
We also have an auto on/off function for the sub so a trigger isn’t strictly required.
Chris, I have been following your posts and I appreciate your candor. I wonder about the idea of using high level inputs on subs. First, what does the back EMF of the main speakers do to that signal? Also with speakers like my Magnepan 3.7x’s benefit from high passing which reduces the low frequency stress on the panels as well as the amp. Plus you are not dealing with the panels and subs outputting the bass with the associated phase problems making blending more difficult. What are your thoughts.
Thanks for the questions.
The speaker level input on sub amps has thousands of ohms as input impedance (and a voltage divider network to knock the level down to line level) so has no impact on the load of the amp and interaction with the main speakers. The low output impedance of an amplifier dominates damping back EMF and there is no interaction with the high level sub in.
This is mainly a convenience feature to allow hooking up the subs to amp or speaker (if nearby) or do not have additional line level outs of a preamp or are using an integrated system without pre-outs. I’ve also seen the argument made that it may impart some of the sound of the main amplifier to the subwoofer and help blending.
We offer line level (balanced and unbalanced) for people like you doing bass management to their main speakers.
Keep in mind that you view of phase is somewhat incorrect. Yes, you want the subwoofer to be in phase with your speakers at the listening position but that is independent of the acoustic phase of the sub and that all depends on placement etc. Also, having a broad overlap with your main speakers (if they are capable of enough distortion low frequency output) helps smooth room modes because your main speaker acts as an additional low frequency source. Of course, magnepans have more limited LF output than most speakers so a high pass lifter is a good idea (and running your subwoofer from full range pre-outs).
Thank you for your response and explanation. I was incorrect in my use of phase in that context. Keep up the good work!
Fantastic! Can’t wait to own one someday. When will the wireless transmitter be available?
GORGEOUS! Congrats to all, from Chris B., to the shipping team, and everyone in between!! Bravo.
The wireless transmitter and stacking kit are available now. I’ll talk to Paul about getting it on the site.
Until we fix that, you may need to call in for those.
The control app is done put not published to the app store yet (we are submitting the information today but Apple takes a bit to approve everything).
Looks really great! Are they white satin or gloss Paul?