Looking for a subwoofer

[vicdiaz]

Finally I've accepted that I need a subwoofer for my setup. I'd much prefer to get larger speakers but there is not that much space where my Katans are sitting up right now and my wife would kill me if I try to get something more visible than the Katans (she think they are SO big!!!)

As usual, there is a huge amount of candidates but (as always) I've limited myself to the ones that carry more 'Tune' than huge amounts of bass. Best ones seem to be sealed type ones, but there seems to be a few exceptions.

Candidates by manufacturing country are:

UK
Linn (of course, but branding increases pricing a lot)
REL (same issue as Linn)
BK Electronics
MJ Acoustics

US
Velodyne (same issue as Linn and REL)
Rytmik Audio

I've received a fair amount of feedback from Linnik (thanks!) regarding the MJ Acoustics subs and reading ThomasOK's feedback it seems the RELs are a better option than Linn's offering.

I would like to hear more feedback from other members about the above and any other options I have not considered.

BTW, I e-mailed both BK Electronics and MJ Acoustics and NEVER received a reply from them, so minus points for both of them.

On the other hand, I've been offered a MJ Acostics subwoofer, but I'm still wary on warranty and support issues due to living in a U.S. territory (Puerto Rico).

There is both Linn and REL dealers locally.

As always, feedback is gladly accepted!!

Vic

[ledcam]

Hi Vic. We have had a number of REL's in our time and think that they are tremendous. I know that the line-up has changed since Sumiko took over REL but if you can get your hands on a second hand Storm for example it would be a worthwhile addition to your set-up. The REL's are very user friendly and easy to integrate into a system

We had a Storm latterly before moving on to B&W 850's. We now have a bigger listening room and the Storm was struggling a bit. The footprint of the Storm is not large and might just prove wife-friendly. I think REL had reached Storm 5 in the line-up - whether it is still made I don't know.

I have never heard a Linn sub I liked. We auditioned the Akurate 221 and were hard pushed to notice anything. I don't know about the Klimax but again it is a big beastie and not cheap :) Linn seem to go in more for bass enhancement rather than all out slam - great on movies but essential too on all music irrespective of type - even a piano piece played with the Storm has more depth to the acoustic and after experiencing a well integrated sub we would never dream of not having one or two ( 8) in our system.

We recently changed our main speakers from 242's to Klimax 350's. It wouldn't enter our minds to lose the subs and the 350's are not bass shy - far from it - but played with the subs the soundstage is grin-inducing and utterly addictive.

It's a thorny subject! There are Linnies who appear horror struck at the mention of a sub. Horses for courses I suppose - have a listen I don't think you'll be disappointed - but do ensure you take time to integrate the sub- one blasting away in a corner without any attempt to integrate it is a dreadful mess. Happy listening!

[vicdiaz]

Thanks for you replay ledcam!

This morning I visited the REL dealer and did not like REL's current line-up. Too much hi-tech looks for my liking. As expected, the salesperson pushed and demoed another brand (JL Audio), impressive and gut-wrenching bass, but not of my liking (no tune at all!!!).

I was looking a REL Storm being very cheaply in Audiogon but it has already been sold. :( There are other REL Storms being offered but they are black (I'm not a racist!!!) and won't match my Cherry-colored Katans (WAF-SAP is very important!!!)

It seems that I'll end up buying the MJ Acoustics but have not agreed on a final price with the seller.