I’m here to express the doubts I have regarding the future purchase of my next subwoofer.
This product will be used in my second system, the AV one, and will still have to have a decent visual impact (beautiful, therefore, will be better) and the sound quality is to be preferred to “bare performance”.
Last week I had the pleasure of listening to an excellent AV system that used a complete Magico loudspeaker system (A5 + ACC + A3 + A-SUB) amplified by a Krell Chorus 5200 XD along with an Acurus Muse processor.
Room treated passively and actively, DreamVision EOS Signature L 8K projector on a 137" screen, in short, dynamics and quality.
During this demo, however, I realized how a “small” subwoofer with a “ridiculous” 10" woofer, amplified (presumably) by a Hypex class D of only 500 watts could fill the room to an almost cinematic level.
If it weren’t for its fairly high price (the A-SUB costs around 11K) I would have immediately wanted two in my system.
But now I’ll be honest with you:
Will the Magico A-SUB be able to compete with an M&K Sound X15+?
(which costs half as much)
What would you do?
What other subwoofers would you put on your shortlist?
Thank you and I hope to have your suggestions on this soon.
REL, hands down. I’ve owned several generations of REL, with diversions along the way that never measured up to REL for sheer performance, especially for music. In fact, REL broke the mold when it was founded as a company specializing only in fast, pitch correct subwoofers for music low bass enforcement. They still produce, dollar for dollar, the best fast, pitch correct subs on the market. Btw I currently own the S/510 which has more accolades in the hifi press than I’ve been able to count.
I had thought about it if I hadn’t also taken the aesthetic side into account.
Unfortunately the sub will be in plain sight and not behind the screen, as in a purely HT room.
If it had been hidden I would have also considered the fantastic JTR Captivator RS2s.
If you have the room for proper placement, and the budget, two subs are generally considered better. Nor do they need to be the most expensive of the range. My rule of thumb is if I’m restricted to just one I purchase the best model my budget allows, but if i’m going to purchase two I can easily meet all my objectives with one or even two models down. Audiophiles always want to spend more money, just to spend more money. I can’t imagine two properly set up S/510s not being able to fill a 70m2 space with all the speed and extension you could want. I always dare my audiophile friends to step back and spend less. Dare to spend less.
I take REL No. 32 which at this point I will allocate to the main system (the McIntosh one) and I move my current Sub (a Paradigm Reference Signature SUB25) to the AV one with the PL500IIs.
What do you think about this?
However, knowing the Paradigm, are we sure that the REL is so superior?
I have a pair on N31’s. I quite enjoy them.
I have had experience with M&K Sunbwoofers. I like your thinking.
I should say that after my M&K subwoofer experience I have purchased six REL subs.
If I were to offer another solution I would say a pair of REL S812s, used would be nice. New would be a possible unnecessary expense. Use the High Level Inputs.
I definitely agree on having at least a pair of subwoofers for HT or even 2 Channel. Paul himself often mentions their benefit on a bunch of his videos even if paired with full range speakers. REL also seems to be his preferred choice.
Might want to look into the B&W DB series subs. I am a Rythmik fan but don’t know if Brian will ship to your location but you can buy a quad of F12SE’s in the US for less than the price of a pair of REL’s of equal size.
With that kind of subs I hope you don’t use your HT system also for soccer matches, like Roma-Lazio derby! They should shake the building more than being live at the Olimpico stadium!
