REL Q150E rattle. Replacement driver?

Sgoaty

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Hi

I have an REL Q150E Sub which my 3 year old daughter pushed the dust cap in on. I managed to get it pulled back out but im now noticing a vibey rattling noise at certain frequencys. Im not 100% certain the dust cap has caused the rattle but its what me listen out for it.
I contacted REL about a replacement driver and they put me on to the agent most local to me who want £117.50 for the driver and £25+ vat for fitting which im not sure is optional or not.

This seems like alot of money for a driver on an which doesnt even seem to be a name brand (DRVDING-01005-S).

Can I just pick up a 10" driver from somewhere else and fit it without problems? Is a car one OK to use or not?

Thanks
Scott

Video of misbehaving sub it sounds worse on the video that it really is but you get the idea
Q150E Sub knackered - YouTube
 
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REL traditionally used Volt bass drivers on a lot of their subwoofer. It is most likely that drive unit is an OEM unit made specifically for REL themselves and not available on the general market.

In addition to that, if you look at the current cost of some other Volt bass drive units the price you have been quoted does not seem unreasonable.

Volt

I would either get it fixed using the correct drive unit or look at it as an opportunity for an upgrade. There are plenty of subwoofers out there that would offer significantly better performance than the Q150 for not much more than it retailed for originally and taking inflation into account from when it was a current model it will probably cost less to do better.

Cheers,

Chris.
 
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I bought it second hand about 6 months ago i couldnt justify spending £5-600 on a subwoofer as im not much of an audophile really. Maybe ill just have to bite the bullet and spend the £150 :(
 
If you're handy with a screwdriver and soldering iron you should be able to do the install yourself and save the £25 + VAT

Should be a simple job.
 
Theyre just push on terminals and cap screws so its easy peasy. Im not sure if the driver will come with a new foam gasket or not. Im guessing the shop would be including one of these in the install price.
 
Im gonna pick up a kenwood or similar driver from ebay and see how it goes. If its sounds rubbish to my untrained ears ill go back to getting the driver from REL. Worth gamble for £50 imho.
 
I got a replacement 10" driver but it turns out theyre not all the same external size so id have to butcher my cabinet to get it to fit which im not willing to do.

I just cut the dust cap off the original driver but its still making this noise. Any idea what could be causing it?

I think im just have to going to bite the bullet and spend the £150 on this old REL :(
 
REL traditionally used Volt bass drivers on a lot of their subwoofer.

The Q100 used a Westra driver, so unless Rel are willing to divulge the drivers origin (unlikely if they are looking to supply it from themselves) I wouldnt guess what driver is in the Q150.

I would work out your cabinet size and see what drivers are about for that size cabinet, you may be able to improve the sub.
 
Well I managed to get the new Vibe Blackair driver installed but it doesnt sound any better than the original. Could the fault be with some of the electronic components in the sub? If i play a bass test my M74s play a nice deep bass with no distortion and the REL just sits there rattling it sounds terrible.
 
Well I managed to get the new Vibe Blackair driver installed but it doesnt sound any better than the original. Could the fault be with some of the electronic components in the sub? If i play a bass test my M74s play a nice deep bass with no distortion and the REL just sits there rattling it sounds terrible.

Have you checked every screw on the sub is tightened as much as possible? I have come across very few faulty RELS, and the few that I did needed nothing more than the screws around the drive unit and the amp board tightened up.
 
Well I managed to get the new Vibe Blackair driver installed but it doesnt sound any better than the original. Could the fault be with some of the electronic components in the sub? If i play a bass test my M74s play a nice deep bass with no distortion and the REL just sits there rattling it sounds terrible.

All the Vibe Blackair installs I have seen have been in small ported cabs in cars. Chances are its just not suited to the application your trying to use it in at all. Plus the Rel amp will have some additional electronic eq on board designed for its original driver which again wont do the Vibe driver any favours.

I would follow crustyloafers advice first, I have to agree with him that I have also seen very very few damaged rels over the years. The rattle could be coming from something as simple as a cable resting in the rear for he driver that may simply need moving out of the way. Have you had a good look at the original driver, and tried it back in the cab?
 
Yes ive had the original driver in and out like a yoyo everything is mounted up tight and the cables are clear of the driver.
 
Sounds like a knackered driver then. Have you tried e-mailing Rel direct, or was your quote via a dealer. Rel might give you the driver model as the sub is no longer in production and a fairly old model now.
 
Yes It was REL who put me on to the local dealer. I think im going to just plump for a new Subwoofer. There could be a faulty REL up for sale shortly :rolleyes:
 
What effect would having the driver polarity reversed have? ive got red to +ve and blue to -ve which should be right but just wondered as i dont remeber it rattling before i took it out (maybe im just listening for it now)
Thanks
Scott
 

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