Sub Dilema...

[walshyy]

Morning all,

So I'm in somewhat of a pickle

Moving house in about 8-10 weeks and the missus has just told me she doesn't want my beloved Arendal Sub 3 in the living room and as we
are going for the extreme minimalist look, I can understand why. I do love this sub though. We will have plenty of space in other rooms for a full set-up but
this new property is only a 2-3 year stop gap while we look for our dream home, where then I will have a full cinema room.

So, thinking of selling the sub 3 so I can replace it with something smaller, gorgeous looking to please Mrs W and also something that still gives great performance. Initially was considering ( stupidly?) the KEF KC-62 but have a feeling this just won't cut it with movies ( I have previously owned the Seismic 110 so I'm fully aware small subs have limitations and simply cannot compete with their bigger brothers). Love the look of the REL S/812, how would this fare against my Sub3? I'm aware going smaller and sexier I will have to compromise performance, but by how much? If the Sub 3 is vastly superior to even the REL, then I'm even more stumped. I'm aware there are some real beasts out there much cheaper than the REL but they are huge and certainly more of an eye sore than the Sub 3. Also, is there a huge difference between the S/510 and the S/812? The room will roughly be 6m x 6m.

Any advice appreciated!

Thanks all

 

[steve sph]

If you want a sub that looks 'nice' then buy the label-festooned, underperforming and overpriced REL.
That's if you think this blinged-up monstrosity looks nice rather than tacky.
If you want a sub that performs well but doesn't win beauty contests then look at SVS/HSU/Monoprice or virtually anything else.
Or just keep the Sub 3 and get a new wife who appreciates quality of sound over what looks nice when the neighbours come round.

 

[walshyy]

So basically my Sub 3 will blow away the much more expensive REL? Seriously? I have no intention of replacing the Sub 3 with an ugly SVS/HSU/Monoprice. What I'm looking for is something smaller and sexy but still gives good performance. Are you telling me these don't exist? Hmmmmm....not sure if I believe that and according to this review neither does @Steve Withers.

REL S/510 Subwoofer Review

The REL S/510 is the smaller entry in the company's Serie S range, and like the other models it boasts increased power and a redesigned driver for an improved performance.

www.avforums.com

REL S/812 subwoofer review

The new Serie S range of subwoofers from REL is 
more than just a simple revision of its previous incarnation. Never a company to do things by half, the new lineup represents a total transformation of its mid-sized class 
of subs.

www.homecinemachoice.com

I'm not looking for REL haters here ( which it appears SVS / HSU fan boys seem to be) I just want unbiased opinions... I guess what I want to know is am I going to be majorly disappointed going from Sub3 to REL or any other smaller subs?

 

[Gasp3621]

Morning all,

So I'm in somewhat of a pickle

Moving house in about 8-10 weeks and the missus has just told me she doesn't want my beloved Arendal Sub 3 in the living room and as we
are going for the extreme minimalist look, I can understand why. I do love this sub though. We will have plenty of space in other rooms for a full set-up but
this new property is only a 2-3 year stop gap while we look for our dream home, where then I will have a full cinema room.

So, thinking of selling the sub 3 so I can replace it with something smaller, gorgeous looking to please Mrs W and also something that still gives great performance. Initially was considering ( stupidly?) the KEF KC-62 but have a feeling this just won't cut it with movies ( I have previously owned the Seismic 110 so I'm fully aware small subs have limitations and simply cannot compete with their bigger brothers). Love the look of the REL S/812, how would this fare against my Sub3? I'm aware going smaller and sexier I will have to compromise performance, but by how much? If the Sub 3 is vastly superior to even the REL, then I'm even more stumped. I'm aware there are some real beasts out there much cheaper than the REL but they are huge and certainly more of an eye sore than the Sub 3. Also, is there a huge difference between the S/510 and the S/812? The room will roughly be 6m x 6m.

Any advice appreciated!

Thanks all

Sub 3 would be spot on for the new room, really shame if you have to sell it. Have you considered "masking" it? See the link below how fellow member disguised Sub 3 that kept wife happy. At least i would show these pictures for her, you never know if she would agree..

Bose Frankenstein Sound System and it's issues

Hello Folks, My goal is to have a simple, family friendly system that provides great audio/visual experience. I want the speakers to be not so noticeable, but with great sound. I'm sort of a newbie for the most part to sound systems. I have a bit of a Frankenstein system I've put together that...

www.avforums.com

S/812 is not really small. 430 x 455 x 514 mm.

KC-62 is small but likely very underwhelming with movies in 36sqm room. Also there is constantly some issues if you read the thread here plus short warranty which would scare me away from them. SVS Micro 3000 would be alternative, but i could imagine the disappointment after the huge Sub 3.

 

[steve sph]

So basically my Sub 3 will blow away the much more expensive REL? Seriously? I have no intention of replacing the Sub 3 with an ugly SVS/HSU/Monoprice. What I'm looking for is something smaller and sexy but still gives good performance. Are you telling me these don't exist? Hmmmmm....not sure if I believe that and according to this review neither does @Steve Withers.

REL S/510 Subwoofer Review

The REL S/510 is the smaller entry in the company's Serie S range, and like the other models it boasts increased power and a redesigned driver for an improved performance.

www.avforums.com

REL S/812 subwoofer review

The new Serie S range of subwoofers from REL is 
more than just a simple revision of its previous incarnation. Never a company to do things by half, the new lineup represents a total transformation of its mid-sized class 
of subs.

www.homecinemachoice.com

I'm not looking for REL haters here ( which it appears SVS / HSU fan boys seem to be) I just want unbiased opinions... I guess what I want to know is am I going to be majorly disappointed going from Sub3 to REL or any other smaller subs?

I'm not affiliated or tied to any particular brand - the only thing I'm a 'fanboy' of is getting the best equipment my budget can buy.
And by any criteria you wish to use REL do not meet that criteria.
If you consider REL to be 'sexy' then buy one - clearly 'sexy' is more important to you than value for money.
Just don't expect the rest of us to agree with you.

 

[ShanePJ]

If you look at the watts alone on the two Rel's, one has an extra 300watts of power available to it to drive a larger driver. I'm guessing you have permission for either of these to woofers due to the angular looks (and that you are going for a minimalist feel to the room). I feel at the price of these two woofers, yes they can perform, but compared to your Arendal, you will experience differences. Neither of them have as much power, the diver is also quite a bit larger which will require more power to drive it correctly. For a closer match, the S/812 will be a closer match than the S/510. Now If you have some control over what you are allowed to replace it with, also look at the SB16 Ultra. This should be enough (or at least I would hope) plus its a little better to look at than your Sub 3 although not as good to look at than the Rel's (in my opinion)

 

[walshyy]

I'm not affiliated or tied to any particular brand - the only thing I'm a 'fanboy' of is getting the best equipment my budget can buy.
And by any criteria you wish to use REL do not meet that criteria.
If you consider REL to be 'sexy' then buy one - clearly 'sexy' is more important to you than value for money.
Just don't expect the rest of us to agree with you.

I think the REL looks good, yes. I never once said 'sexy' is more important. If it was upto me I'd have 2 x Sub 3's!! ( or 2 x 2V's ) but it isn't just upto me, as stated in my post. I merely stated I liked the look of the REL's and could have that, but wanted to know if it would be a huge downgrade from my Sub 3. And I never said I wanted anyone to agree with me, I'm not even bothered about the REL I'm open to other recommendations, but all you did was slate REL and recommend huge ugly subs!
SW gave both REL's great reviews though so clearly they aren't label-festooned and underperforming as you put it. Overpriced a little? maybe..

If you look at the watts alone on the two Rel's, one has an extra 300watts of power available to it to drive a larger driver. I'm guessing you have permission for either of these to woofers do to the angular looks (and that you are going for a minimalist feel to the room). I feel at the price of these two woofers, yes they can perform, but compared to your Arendal, you will experience differences. Neither of them have as much power, the diver is also quite a bit larger which will require more power to drive it correctly. For a closer match, the S/812 will be a closer match than the S/510. Now If you have some control over what you are allowed to replace it with, also look at the SB16 Ultra. This should be enough (or at least I would hope) plus its a little better to look at than your Sub 3 although not as good to look at than the Rel's (in my opinion)

Thank you Shane I really appreciate your comments. I'm not actually too keen on the look of the SVS in all honesty, I think its the LCD display which makes it look a bit tacky. I saw a post somewhere that in a blind test, the Sub 2 even outperformed the SVS. I love the look of my Sub 3, and it's a great performer.


Unless I go Sub 2V white satin and re-jig the layout........sorted!

 

[ShanePJ]

If you like the sub so much, can you not get it dipped/sprayed with a gloss finish of your choice? That could be another way round for you which you hadn't looked at.

Although I don't know of any places where you can get this done, I'm sure someone on these Forums knows of a place which they would happily recommend?

 

[walshyy]

Cheers Shane, I'll sell the Sub 3 and get the white 2V, the Mrs has been told and she's ok with white! Ha ha

 

[MI55ION]

Cheers Shane, I'll sell the Sub 3 and get the white 2V, the Mrs has been told and she's ok with white! Ha ha

Careful there, it might look like a small refrigerator!

Have you thought about wrapping the sub 3 in white vinyl as a temp solution

 

[walshyy]

Ha ha it will be in the corner behind a chair anyway so won't be screaming 'im here' lol

But no I haven't, not really my thing tbh, it will end up looking like sh*te ha ha..

 

[MI55ION]

Sounds like a good reason for an upgrade, with her blessings, even better.

 

[walshyy]

Yep..the 2V has more power and goes deeper, gotta be a much better route than REL

 

[Gasp3621]

I'll sell the Sub 3 and get the white 2V, the Mrs has been told and she's ok with white! Ha ha

Woah! Quite a turn around from the tiny KC62 kids toybox...

The new 2V has beefier drivers with more excursion, new amp with extra juice and the filter isn´t limiting extension anymore so it has strong output down to 12,5hz! Naturally you will move this to dedicated cinema room in future and add 2nd.

 

[MemX]

If your missus is into crafting, get her to knock up a cover for it in the material of her choice