New Rel Quake, any good?

[eddiea]

I know Uncle Eric has heard one, has anyone else got any opinions of the new Rel Quake?

[Joe Abbeywood]

Having recently posted some comments about the Pro 50 subwoofer from M J Acoustics I received a request for question about using either the Quake or Pro 50. The chap had got 2 Kefs he was not happy with and wanted to upgrade. You may find my respponce of some interest.

"Mark,
Sorry to here that you have had such a problem with your setup. To be honest I thought long and hard about who to support when I bought my subs. What swayed me was the ethos behind those guys at MJA who seem to have been on our side of the fence for the most part. Anyway there really is only 2 manufacturers to choose from. They be REL and MJ Acoustics. Both are British companies and both specialise in Subwoofers. Not jack of all trades like the others – perhaps that’s why the Kefs don’t perform.

The setting up of my 2 Pro 50’s was a breeze. I used the High Level input to connect each sub on its own to the amplifier output on the speaker terminals. One for left and one for right. Then with only one turned on at a time I played a track I was familiar with and tweaked the controls until the sub was just coming into play. I did the same with the other channel. Once this was done you can turn them both on and they are just about right. There’s never been any hint of boom from the Pro50’s so you will not have this to deal with. I also use the 2 Pro 50’s with my cinema setup. In this case I use the Low level lead and take the output from the sub out on the Sony amp I have and feed it to the 2 subs. The great thing is that the High and Low level inputs can be connected at the same time and only the gain controls need to be altered. It really is a simple as that.

For the record I have seen and heard a Quake which has just been launched and yet to be reviewed. It is almost 1kg lighter than the Pro 50 and so I do not think as well made. It seems strange that they release a smaller and cheaper model only after the Pro 50 has been on the market. For my personal taste I don’t think the Quake is as good. Certainly there is less connectivity as it only has one phono input and one high level input. Also the adjustments for the crossover are by switches and not the smooth infinitely adjustable control the pro 50 has.

Hope this helps and good luck."

Hope this is of some use.

Joe Abbeywood

[common]

I've got one and my initial feelings are positive, however I've had to 'cement' the thing with paving slabs and blu tak to get the best out of it - it's very light for a sub. It does go low - think of it as a bargain Q200 and you should be OK (unless you didn't like the Q200 !)

I've yet to set it up properly for movies so I will post back in a couple of days

[Matt F]

Originally posted by eddiea
I know Uncle Eric has heard one, has anyone else got any opinions of the new Rel Quake?

Just had a quick look at the specs for the Quake - REL quote (in their naughty +/-6dB way) a lower frequency limit of 23Hz so, in real terms, there's probably not a lot going on below 30Hz which, arguably, is not low enough to pick up all the LFE effects when listening to movies.

Mind you, if REL are bad for quoting +/-6dB figures then what about MJ Acoustics - they quote a frequency range of 15Hz - 240Hz for the Pro 50 but don't quantify it at all! Come on MJ Acoustics - 15Hz from a 50 watt 8" sub in a small sealed cabinet - who are you trying to kid?

Matt.

[common]

I was a little confused by the Quake used in the What Hi Fi 5 star review - the model pictured had a ground switch which the production Quake does not have - any ideas ? could this be a 'special' review model (wink wink)

[eddiea]

The picture of the Quake on the Rel website shows a ground switch.

http://www.rel.net/products/Quake.shtml

[eddiea]

I've now got a Veneered Quake on demo in my listening room, and Common you are right, this one has no ground switch and the manual says it does not, but the one on their website does!

Anyway, I dont think it needs one, it certainly does not hum on slam or depth setting.

[Dan Gleebles]

This Quake has an earth lift switch

http://www.subbass.pwp.blueyonder.co...side_quake.htm

[Madskilzz]

Eddie

How you getting on with your Rel Quake? I'm hoping to demo the REL and an MJA Pro 50 in the next couple of days.

Cheers

Mark

[eddiea]

Mark

I don’t like it at all, it’s going back.

However some may like it because it is quite powerful for its size but IMO it's too fierce and uncontrolled, my listening room is quite small.

I've tried the MJA Pro 50 and IMO it is better sounding than the Quake but the paper cone put me off.

I am currently trying a Yamaha YST and I must say I quite like it and its half the price of the Rels and MJA, I got it for HT use but I am pleasantly surprised the way it sounds with music with just the LFE connected.

[common]

I think the Quake is great - it does require careful setting up though- i've just about got mine right now but a fraction to much on the volume and it can overpower. As I've mentioned before I have added about 40kg of paving slabs under and on top of the sub with blutak and it's transformed the sound, very tight with music and movies