I went over there and cut and pasted his review here: After 10 days of operation I thought I'd take a minute to provide my first impressions of the new 7x in my office 2 channel system. My room is small measuring 10'5" x 12'9" x 9'. The system consist of a McIntosh C47 pre, McIntosh MC-152 amp, Oppo UDP-205, Yamaha DVD CX-1 multi-disc changer playing through B&W 805 d3 speakers. After following the recommended break-in procedures I spent many hours dialing in the set-up. The introduction of a sub in a new environment can be frustrating, which I was initially, but after a day or so I began to fully grasp the function and integration process of a REL. As of this writing I'm happy to report the sub has blended perfectly with my system. Last night I decided I would experiment listening to a couple of well known songs with and without the sub. Well, that did it for me. The REL is here to stay. All the hype you read about REL subs is REAL. I am extremely pleased with the sound of my system especially when played at low levels as the sound is much fuller with better definition. You also hear so much more in the music that was absent before. Lastly, my first three or 4 days was spent using the stock high level cable. I then received my Bassline Blue cable and it provided an instant improvement in detail and overall sound quality. The improvements were significant enough that I thought to myself this should be the stock cable that ships with the unit. All in all, great job John. Thank you. I guess it is hard to quantify the sound improvement in words.
sub frequencies are many feet long. the way room coloration occurs in the sub bass... Claiming any sort of sub bass "improvement" from a cable is simply all in one's head.
I would consider the cable upgrade if I could do an A-B demo. I just cannot buy what they are selling about this cable: "Sound illuminated THE ULTIMATE UPGRADE Bassline Blue™ is a sensibly-dimensioned cable, well-constructed so that it will improve the overall sound of every aspect of the host system’s performance. As with any REL product—the improvement extends well beyond the obvious bass region. The greatest area of improvement lies in the manner in which the entire soundstage is illuminated. This is a quality quite different from brightness. Illumination acts to bring light into the stage and renders contrast and clarity as well as dynamic shadings much more evident." When you listen to a subwoofer play on its own it seems impossible that a cable would make any audible difference. What qualities would the cable affect? Level? (can be adjusted with controls if so) Speed / Dynamics ? (possibly) Frequency response? (no) What else? So basically because REL "knows" their filter circuit, the cold drawn copper and spade terminals will add illumination to the sound stage? I wonder if trimming the current cables to length would help.
I chose the REL because of the hi level (hi Z) inputs. That and its filter's low group delay time keep the sub and speaker perfectly in phase, the worse case being a 180 degree shift due to location. A cable? I have my doubts.
I have done some reading about subwoofer cables. With interconnect cables I seem to have gravitated to silver coated copper (hybrid designs) as the best sounding, they do seem to allow stronger, more concentrated bass. Some people tend to agree that silver coated high purity copper conductors can improve the sound of the subwoofers. At some point I might make my own set just to try it, not a very expensive trial.
Has anyone hooked up their sub to a Mark Levinson amp via the Neutrik cable? I spoke with tech support and they did not recommend it but didn’t give any reasonable answer as to why. Just said it wasn’t necessary. I have it hooked up with an RCA cable from the low level and it requires way more volume on the sub.
That's odd ... unless there's something really different about those amps (you didn't mention which one ) I can't think of any valid reason why the neutrik cable shouldn't be used... IMO it's the best way to connect the sub while being nearly invisible to the amp.
Looking at their current amps One is class AB, should be no issue The other operates as class A at low levels, AB at higher, this may be their concern
I've connected my Rel T7i to various amps without any issues whatsoever : Sugden, Marantz, Rega and now a Doge 10 using both class A & Class A/B . Never had a problem. I wonder what Mark Levinson is afraid of ?
is the levinson a balanced amplifier? if so follow these instructions: How To Connect A REL to a Balanced AMP | REL Acoustics
It’s the 5805. And I agree with you entirely. No god reason was given other than they don’t recommend it.
The only difference in connecting the Neutrik cable is the ground which is why if it’s balanced or not matters.
It's class AB, but I guess the power transistors are driven by class A It should be no issue to hook the REL up to the speaker terminals. I would check again and ask them why you can't. The REL is a 100 kOhm load.
