Well, I have decided to keep the Rel Gibraltar G1 sub that I have been auditioning the last 11 days. This was not an easy decision as I will attempt to explain.
First, I have no desire for HT type bass in my 2-channel room. (Actually, I really don't want that in my HT either) Second, I prefer not to have too much gear cluttering up my room. Third, I have a limited number of options for placing a sub in my room. Fourth, my room "seems" to bass load pretty easily.
To sum what I have previously posted, a) I have re-run Room Perfect twice since I added the sub, b) the crossover was set at 27/28Hz c) Phase 180 d) volume at 11. RoomPerfect values jumped from 99% Room Knowledge and 14% Filter Processing without a sub to 99& Room Knowledge and 50% Processing on my second go 'round. These are the values and settings where I did most of my listening.
So what did I hear? There is no doubt that the unit filled in the bottom end. Tracks such as Dire Straits "Ride Across The River", Shelby Lynne's "Anyone Who Had A Heart" Bird York's "In The Deep" and Alsion Krauss's "Forget About It" (Live) all benefited from the added weight.
My problem was I could not find a
set and forget setting on the MEN-220. Some tracks sounded better in the Focus position while others sounded better in the ByPass mode. It was almost as if the sound of those tracks played in the Focus position were separated by a cloud layer. All the bass sat low to the ground and the vocals and highs were sitting on top of that layer. If I selected the ByPass mode too often the bass would overwhelm the sound and get a bit muddy.
Today, I dropped the crossover setting to 25Hz and have been running the MEN-220 in ByPass mode and I must say the sound is much better. I gained the musicality lost in the Focus position and the bass is no longer overwhelming.
I will be traveling (again
) this weekend so I will re-run Room Perfect next week to see what happens in the Focus position when the calculations are derived from the sub crossing over at 25Hz. Who knows, I may have purchased a sub and be getting ready to sell a MEN-220.
Jim