Adding a Sub-Bass System

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jaxjon -- Wed, 08/16/2006 - 21:03

I have a Musical Fidelity X System with Magnepan 1.6qr's. I would like to add a REL Sub-Bass System. My music preference is classic rock. Would the Q108E blend well or can you suggest something else.

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Robert Harley -- Thu, 08/17/2006 - 08:34

It's notoriously difficult to blend a moving-coil subwoofer with the planar Magnepan. When done right, however, the results are spectacular. Our occasional reviewer Don Saltzman has spent years building a system around Maggie 20s (and now, 20.1s) with multiple subwoofers, and he's thrilled with the result.

Of all the subwoofers on the market, I think you'll have the easiest time with the REL as far as integration.

Robert Harley
Editor-in-Chief
The Absolute Sound
The Perfect Vision

Chris Martens -- Thu, 08/31/2006 - 10:18

Though I have not tried this woofer with my personal pair of 1.6s, a woofer I have heard give very satisfying (and extremely consistent) results with Maggies is the Velodyne DD-10. Note that this woofer is often used in conjunction with Maggies at trade shows.

The gist of things is that the DD-10 comes with good tools for measuring the combined, in-room response of your speakers plus the sub, and it provides a precise, flexible, multi-band parametric EQ system that lets you dial in extremely flat in-room response--even in cases where rooms have tricky resonance problems. The measurement tools let you verify that you're getting the results you really want.

Tom Martin reviewed the Velodyne DD-10 in an early issue of AVguide Monthly (at the time, he was using it with a set of ProAc monitors).

Also in AVguide Monthly, Sallie Reynolds reviewed the Q108e with a pair of Magnepan MG12s and in a system powered by Musical Fidelity X-series amplifier.

Both reviews are archived on this site.

I agree that the Q108e is a fine subwoofer, but I am particularly impressed by the DD-10's ability to adapt to fit the unique requirements of individual rooms. As I see it, that's worth a lot.

Best,

Chris Martens
TPV/TAS

Chris Martens
Editor, Avguide.com/Playback/The Perfect Vision 

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