It’s been a lot of years since I owned a REL sub and it was replaced by the Vandersteen 2WQ’s but based on memory I think the Rythmik’s are superior for about half the cost. If you order them with the upgrade A370PEQ amps they will do anything the REL’s will do. In my systems the F12’s are extremely musical and their location is seen and not heard. Last I checked Mike at Suncoast is still pushing the B&W subs at an even higher cost than REL. If money were no object I would own a pair of Vandersteen Sub 3’s and a pair of M5-HP crossovers but with an initial investment of $11k plus cables that’s too much for me. I find the Rythmik’s to be the next best option. The REL guys will feel different as will the JL plus CR-1 crossover group.
If you need more grip, you put the discs on top of the feet. Perhaps you have a very heavy cable that pulls on the component?
But they recommend not using them unless necessary.
Oh, I’m not chasing the bass either I use the Rythmik’s to calm bass nodes in the room and for their effects on the soundstage as all of my speakers other than the occasional book shelf model have more than adequate bass. My 2WQ’s came as part of a package deal with my dealer friend’s pair of 3A Signatures that I bought when his new wife objected to them. For the next 16 years all I owned were various Vandersteen models in Oak that matched the color of the subs. When I bought the piano black Nola’s they looked out of place so I replaced them. The friend I sold them to is using them with a pair of Acora SRC-1’s because the high pass filtering is a must in his room to tame terrible bass node issues. They still work as designed once you go through the measurement process to pick the right crossover filter. He is in the process of changing amps now with a different input impedance so will get to work through the process again without me being there to help this time other than with phone guidance. He tried “standard” subs and they didn’t help his situation at all.
My post would appear to be insincere if I posted in your favorite topics lately (hint: start with P and G). Of course, the fact I posted anywhere here would appear I am less sincere.
By next week I will probably be thinking about upgrades again, it is a personal trait. The darn Muon and AQ orders are nowhere to be seen yet. I hope I will get them before Christmas, they will not be here for Thanksgiving for sure.
I removed the grounding cable (Puritan Route Master) and placed the Xangsane Grounding box to Grimm MU2. Amazingly I heard much better definitions and resolution. This grounding box is more effective than RouteMaster by a not-so-small margin. I was not expecting the result at all, and it only took a minute to tell the difference.
Then I plugged in the Hifi 20 Anniversary AC plug-in conditioner. Shockingly the beautiful sound disappeared as if I was listening behind a curtain. I loved their $45 version much better, and I could hear the improvement right the way. But not so with the $250+ version. What happened?Does it need significant more time to break in? I don’t know, but I will leave it in PZ for the next few days. I hope it’s a break-in issue because returning it will be a pain.
Donald, you say the Xangsane grounding box provides a noticeable improvement? I think I should try one too. Are you trying the box in other places? Luca has CAD on every component.
So far I only tried it on MU2, other components still have grounding wires from RouteMaster. Power zone is the only component without any grounding wire connected to it. I’ll leave both Xangsane GB and HIfi 20 in the system for a few days before changing anything. I am bothered that HIfi 20 made the sound worse so I’ll give it more time.
Xangsane box and cable are very well made, and it’s heavy. It will not be my last one I’m sure.
Those discs are handy for any component which has buttons you are likely to need to push which might result in the component sliding on the top of the naked EQs. Otherwise, don’t use them…
To my knowledge, none of the PowerZone owners have tried a simple star ground configuration with all components tied to the ground lug on the PZ.
My excuse is that I am in room move and my system is down but I hope to try it soon.
Of all of the grounding schemes tried here, there seems to be universal benefits for this method. Cheap, easy, no extra boxes. Seems a good place to start.
The RouteMaster would accomplish such arrangement, but I have not connected to PZ yet. In a week or two I may give it a try since I have an extra ground cable. In the past I connected it with a Groundmaster City by itself and I didn’t like it at all.
Interesting, Donald! What made you choose this aluminium box version over the “ Xangsane HiFi electronic black hole grounding box”?
There’s not much info on the website
There is really no information on the differences among their (and others) various grounding boxes. I figured the bigger box maybe more effective and I like the look of silver metal box better.
