As I understand it the speaker binding posts of the 300dr don’t take an additional cables for high-level connection to the sub. It seems I have three options. 1. Connect via rca to my aural of vega 2.1, it’s my steamer and pre. 2. Connect the REL Speakon cable directly to the speakers. 3. Sourcing output post adapters for the Naim amp to couple the two cables, speaker and sub, together. I believe this can require special attention.
Just wondering if anyone here has experience with this set up and which option worked best.
You might want to take into account the practical consideration of cable routing, and where the final position of the sub needs to be relative to the amp and/or speakers.
If you follow Rel’s advice you may well find that you put the sub in a corner, fairly close to one of your speakers. In this case, running the supplied Rel cable from the speaker input sockets makes sense. The only issue is that you have to split the outer sheath of cable so that you can run cables to both speakers.
Another option is to run the cable from the power amp output. Rel make a special cable for this, which has a modification to ensure the stability of the amp is preserved. It has stackable banana plugs that allow them to be used with your main speaker cables. It’s an expensive cable - Designacable make a copy which is far cheaper.
I have a Kudos T505 and a 300DR and rather than using REL I have a Perlisten R210s sub that integrates seamlessly in my very small room. NB: Using REW software is IMHO essential to get the sub tuned to the room as smoothly as possible.
I just added a REL T5x sub to my Harbeth NLE-1s and Atom HE. My dealer set it up and we actually settled on placement in the corner next to the sofa and opposite the wall that the Harbeth’s reside. It was connected low level with a Chord Clearway 5m RCA sub cable (not too expensive) and the difference it has made to the depth of sound is quite significant. A great track which REL recommends to tune the sub is from the Sneakers film original soundtrack album (track 4 - Cosmo….my old friend) which has a faint bass drum in the background throughout in perfect time. You are aiming to hear that drum in the background (not too prominent) with a clear “boom boom” as if you can hear the air around the beat as opposed to it just being a single sound. This was an excellent way to ensure the sub is in phase at the right level with the monitors and, fairly obviously, it should all sound as if it’s coming from your main speakers rather than anything from the sub itself. Good luck, it’s well worth it……
It may well be, but the aesthetic is important to me in this instance, I’m looking to install it in my hire studio and the finish of the classic will blend more easily with the mid-century vibe. Function following form I know…
That would be my choice if you want to connect directly to your power amp. You will need to select a suitable length cable, which can be tricky as it’s best to move the sub around to select the optimum location. Even small adjustments can make a big difference in some rooms, and an incorrectly positioned sub can produce very poor results.
