REL Acoustics S/3 SHO Subwoofer (Super High Output), Longbow Wirless Compatible, Black Lacquer

Happy about Devore 3XL + Firstwatt J2 and look for improvement over low end, which 3XL is limited by physical size. Heard REL from watching PS Audio Paul MgGowan's youTube video of importance of subwoofer (Thanks Paul). REL.net recommends one REL S3 SHO for Devore 3XL and size of room (little over 200 square ft) and placed order first through Amazon (didn't work out due to logistic issue) and through REL Acoustic directly. Did subwoofer crawl trick as recommended by Paul (Thanks again) and placed the S3 not directly at corner since all 4 corners are occupied by 13" Tubetraps. These Tubetraps are like sponge taking in low frequency and the front halves of the Tubetrap are diffusors, thus does not work well placing REL in front of the Tubetrap but instead placing REL close to the wall next to the Tubetrap yield higher pressure. Also, to maximize the REL performance I included REL Bassline Blue cable in the system, connects directly to J2's left and right speaker posts using 3 banana plugs. The power cable is upgraded to Kimber PK10 Base with Audioquest NRG Edison Duplex 20 AMP outlet. Turned on the REL and followed the REL Acoustic tuning youtube video and ended up leaving the cross over at 10 clock (13 - 15 clicks) and sound level the same location. Paul and REL both recommended not to crank up cross-over too high but keep it low to achieve the best clarity, disappearance act and image, I could agree 100%.The addition of REL S3 paints a complete image and picture of sound. Devore 3XL + Firstwatt J2 is very fast and capable of revealing plenty micro-dynamics and details. S3 is no sloth in terms of speed and matches well with 3XL's tempo. Play track 12 I Bid you Goodnight of Aaron Neville's Warm Your Heart CD, the combo presented solid and deep drum notes and enhanced overall vocal and image (Wow!), same can be said about Track 1 Don't be Cruel of Judds' Heartland, these tracks are recorded with very taunt and deep drum / bass and this REL just lift the veil of whole presentation. S3 can go very deep, playing Danny Elfman's sound track for Mission Impossible (Track 3, Red Handed), the bass goes so deep and fast without booming, feels the sound pressure just creeping inside my pants; I don't know the number but I have heard some very low end note from recordings that I have never heard before in my listening room using this setup. Another example about super low end note is recording by Jon Hassell, City - Works of Fiction. Track 3 Mombasa has some super low end bass that I didn't hear from 3XL but become very noticeable with REL S3. By the way this City - Works of Fiction is fascinating, imaginary of futuristic scene with pretty wild and unique notes and effects, one of my favorite electrical music in my collection.Speaking of the wave of bass coming at you, the large pipe organ from Saint Saens No. 3 conducted by Louis Fremaux (Klavier 11010) and track 9 of Cantate Domino, Oscar's Motet Choir, the wave of pipe organ low end notes just there and coming at you from the background, thus elevate the whole presentation to a new level. REL also helps imaging, especially with live recording, such as Lionel Hamption Live Carnegie Hall Concert (Track 03 Flying Home, 06 Misty), Stephane Grappelli’s Live at the Blue Note. I read somewhere that the recording capture full spectrum of sounds, including ambient low end notes / resonance that is normally less noticeable. If these nuisance low end notes are presented as well as the high and mid range that we typically will appreciate, the image has more completeness. I noticed the instruments in these records, such as vibe, violin, piano, bass, drums, seems to be more vivid with cleaner edges. It feels magical that the subwoofer can improve the mid range and image!Should mention earlier, this unit has superb build quality (assembled in China). The piano finish is very glossy so I have to wear gloves to move this thing around, otherwise will leave a lot of figure prints. Back panel layout is classy and easy to use. I do like the mechanical feedback on the level knob, so I can count clicks thus to follow the instructions from REL acoustic youtube videos. These are short and get to the point tutorials, very helpful.With REL S3 SHO added to my system, I would say it is significant upgrade that fill the gap of missing low end spectrum. What is more, REL helps enhance not only the dynamics, super low bass, but overall presentation, image, vocals, it makes me want to explore more of musical intent / contents in each collection further. It is well worth the investment and will highly recommend!Update - Stereo Set UpREL web site recommended only one S3 for size of my listening room but decided to purchase another S3 SHO for stereo setup during year end promotion. Adding another S3 is quite a learning than I expected (more than double the work for sure) but the return is noticeable and worth it (I expected classic diminished return scenario, not asking two times better but it turned out to be better for sure). To start with, I had S3 for 9 months and noticed immediately that the new S3 sound level was lower than the old one. After reading the REL website I followed the break in procedure (1st and 2nd part) by playing tracks of Cool by Bob James / Earl Klugh for several hours LOUD. Afterward the new S3 did provide more db than fresh out of box. I connected yellow and red to positive post and black to negative post for each channel, and lowed the gain by half (was 14 now 7 on each sub). Also I moved both subs further from front wall and closer to speaker with more toe in toward listening position. It turned out to be not ideal and sound over-blown and lack of clarity at low end. Hum… I went back to instruction and start by setting up individual sub one at a time. It turned out that my previous setup for left channel was still the optimal position, which is closer to the front wall, less toe-in, cross-over at 12 and gain at 14. I did similar for right channel, playing only one sub and it ended at similar mirrored location. Then, instead of reduce the gain from 14 to 7 on both subs, I decided to halve the input by disconnect one wiring from positive posts on each side, which ended up with yellow for left and red for right only and level was kept the same at 14. The sound finally went back to normal and the improvement is shown. Simply speaking, it is more clear bass and extension, less over-blown and improved overall imaging. Titanic CD track 7 Hard to Starboard is good demonstration for deep bass extension and imaging. The sympathizer + large drum separation is better with two subs than one. Bass is deep and clear but no lack of energy. I have to admit one sub was already pretty good. Adding 2nd one is icing on the cake. Another demo is Now the Green Blade Riseth (PROPRIUS PRCD 9093). The double bass if over-blown could overwhelm the choir and become unbearable. With two subs, the double bass sounds with more clear lines with excellent resonance and texture (It is there but not extruding). MoFi's Kind of Blue (45 RPM) has more mid and low and the double bass is cleaner with one sub than two. I can almost see the plucking! Overall, two subs should be the way to go but it requires some work to get it right. Once it is well setup the imaging and clarity improvement is evident and make you want to listen to more records and CDs. Indeed I feel that the two S3 finally completed DeVore 3XL speakers in my listening room, producing very intoxicating and enduring music that worth the efforts!

Everything I hoped for in a top tier subwoofer to enhance an already excellent two channel playback system (PS Audio, Levinson, Revel full range). Super fast and able to keep up, added punch and "heft" in the lower frequencies and a bigger sound overall with more relaxed voices and midrange instruments. Highly recommended.

Best sub I have ever owned! It connects directly to the back of the left and right of the receiver for music and also LTE for movies. Bass sounds tight, accurate and still can shake the house! This sub just sounds good with everything and there is no boom. I originally bought a B&W CM10 sub but after a grounding problem returned it and selected this instead. I used to think that the B&W sounded great but this sub beat it hands down in all areas. Smoother, tighter, louder.