REL Acoustics Q200E Subwoofers

REL Acoustics Q200E Subwoofers 

DESCRIPTION

REL Q200E 200 watt active sub-bass system

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 29  
[Nov 19, 2003]
JAYNE HARVEY
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

WHERE TO START IS THE PROBLEM THERE IS NOT A POINT ABOUT THIS SUB YOU COULD NOT SAY IS EXCELLENT WETHER YOU WANT TO USE TO IMPROVE YOUR SYSTEMS SOUND OR DESTROY YOUR FOUNDATIONS IT WILL DELIVER THE GOODS WITH ASTONISHING POWER,CLARITY,CHARACTER AND FINESE.

Weakness:

TO BE HONEST THE ONLY WEAKNESS FOR THIS SUB IS THE SPIKES SUPPLIED.USING THEM IS LIKE PUTTING THIS SUB IN YOUR SHED AND LISTERNING TO IT INDOORS.BUT THATS MY ONLY MOAN.

I FIRST HEARD THE Q200E ROUND A FRIENDS AND WAS VERY IMPRESSED BY THIS SUB ABILITY TO INTERGRATE WITH MUSIC AND MULTI-CHANNEL SOUND.WITH MUSIC USING THE HIGH QUALITY NUETRIK CONNECTION IT INTERGRATES SEAMLESSLY AND IT WAS THIS INTERGRATION ABILITY THAT SOLD ME.I WENT TO SEVERAL RETAILERS TO BE DISAPPOINTED BY THE FACT THAT THEY DID NOT STOCK THE Q200E.I THEN CAME ACROSS HUGHES WHICH HAD IT IN STOCK AND GAVE ME A DEMO.I ALSO LISTENED TO THE STATRA III WHICH SOUNDED GOOD BUT WITH MOVIES IT LACKED THE OVERALL CHARACTER AND PUNCH OF THE Q200E.SO I BROUGHT THE Q200E AND PAYING ONLY £649.99 I FOUND IT TO BE SUPERB VALUE FOR MONEY.ONCE I GOT IT HOME AND SET IT UP IT CHANGED MY SYSTEMS ABILITY TEN FOLD.WHAT MEAN IS IVE NEVER HEARD SUCH A FINE SOUNDING PRODUCT. THE WAY IT ADDS THAT ALL IMPORTANT DEPTH AND DRIVE JUST HAS TO BE HEARD TO BE BELIVED.AS WITH MULTI-CHANNEL USE THE NUCLEAR EXPLOSION IN THE SUM OF ALL FEARS WAKES SATIN UP FROM THE DEPTHS AND THE PRECISION DRIVE AND TIMING IS SECOND TO NONE. A POINT I SHOULD MAKE IS WHEN SETTING THIS BEAST UP MAKE SURE YOU SPEND PLENTY OF TIME ADJUSTING THE CROSSOVER TO GET THE BEST INTERGRATION.BASICALLY IF YOU CAN NOT DISTINCTIVELY HEAR THE SUB ITS INTERGRATED.AS FOR THE SUPPLIED SPIKE DO NOT USE THEM AS ALL THE LOW FREQUENCYS AND SOME INTERGRATION DISAPPEARS.THIS IS BECAUSE USING THE SPIKES DE-COUPLES THE WOOFER FROM THE FLOOR WICH LEANS OUT BASS RESPONSE IN RELS WORDS.THE MAIN THING THOUGH IS AS LONG AS YOU FOLLOW THE SUPPLIED INSTRUCTIONS YOU WONT GO FAR WRONG. WHEN USING THE LFE INPUTS I TRIED THE +12db INPUT TO FIND IT WAS LEAFUL.BY THIS I MEAN IT NOTE ONLY BOOSTED THE LOWER FREQUENCYS BUT THE OVERALL SPEED,DEPTH AND CHARACTER IMPROVED SIGNIFICANTLY.

Similar Products Used:

I HAVE TREID OTHER SUBS IN THE PAST FROM THE LIKES OF B&W AND MONITOR AUDIO AND TO PUT IT FRANKLY NOTHING COMES CLOSE TO A REL.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 18, 2003]
pipo
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Nice sub sounds (everytime you have to look after things in the room that vibrate on the sound) gna gna...

Weakness:

With the DVD Hypnotic (also known as Docter sleep) during the heart beat in the end of the film, the housing makes a fibrating noise. When sitting on the sub the noise disappeared. I found out that when using the spikes the strange sound is gone. Only I miss somthing to put between the spike and my wooden floor. Now I uses coin's but these will not centre under the spikes and sometimes they are not right under the spikes (after my wife vacuum's the room) and then the spikes will damage the floor. For the price of the sub I think they should included it. It costs nearly nothing and to find something in black that fit's is difficult.

It sounds perfect, takes a while to setup with the amplifier to get it right for music and on the other hand for sound effects in DTS DVD movies. I do not use the Neutrik Speakon Input because my amplifier send it together with the RFE info.

Similar Products Used:

B&W

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Sep 16, 2003]
dvdfreak
AudioPhile

Strength:

You can tweak till it's hurts!!

Weakness:

Set up difficult for people who want to plug and play right away....

This is one sub that is absolute top notch if set up right! If you don't mind to tweak for some days or weeks till you are satisfied a angel will come in you're room (or maybe the devil himself!). This is one peace of high tech! This sub can go very low without giving a glimp. Tip Place the sub behind you're right speaker in a corner if possible. Place it on a flat peace of rock and also on top...the result is that the sub goes even lower and the bass output is without any distortion and the slam is.....a knock out!!

Similar Products Used:

Crap!!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 12, 2003]
C C
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Excellent musical sound. Outstanding control of both gain and frequency, allowing perfect blending with your existing setup.

Weakness:

Lacks power in large, poor-acoustics rooms.......if you like a lot of bass. If you do not want your walls and floor shaking, this is an excellent subwoofer indeed.

[[This is a review of the Q150E, posted here as there is not a section specifically for it]] In almost every sense, the Q150E is an excellent subwoofer. Musically, it is difficult to top. I have used it in conjunction with Klipsch RF7 and RF 3 II floorstanding speakers, and have tested it with Mirage and Vienna Acoustics speakers, as well. In every case, it blends nicely, filling in where the mains leave-off. That is its strength, really, its ability to blend musically with your main speakers, giving you a seamless transistion from lower-mid range down to sub-audible. In the proper sized room, it plays nice and deep (more on room size momentarily). The controlability of the REL is exceptional. There is the typical roll-off adjustment, combined with gain control not only for the LFE input, but also for the high-level input, making it quite useful in 'bypass' or 'direct'mode. Others have commented that modification of the Neutrik high-level input cable, specifically improving the conductors to actual speaker wire, improves sound when using the high-level inputs. This may or may not be true, I have not actually done it myself. I would be quite surprised if the improvement would be worth the trouble, but perfectionism is perfectionism. Be sure, when you take this thing home, that you test it both with and without the supplied carpet spikes. Being on rather thick carpet, they made quite a difference for me, especially given that the subwoofer weighs considerably less than most other models I tested. When tested 1-1 verses the Klipsch RSW10 and RSW12, the REL sounded superior, in volume, non-directionality, and in musicality. I personally can not imagine paying the cost of the RSW12, when the REL is available for quite a bit less. The RSW15 is obviously a superior subwoofer (though not the best at its price). Beautiful looking, and beautiful sounding, it destroys the REL in an open room. Room size is of great importance. The room into which I placed my REL Q150E is 2300 cubic feet. I managed to adjust the unit so that it played sufficently loud for my original purposes, and was quite pleased with the sound of it. At first. Later, I started to play at higher volume levels, especially for effects-oriented movies. I quickly found that the REL could not keep up with my Klipsch RF7 setup in a room that size. There was no........impact. From a musical standpoint, the REL still sounded quite nice, but it did not shake my floor the way I wanted. I should note also that the room has lousy acoustic properties, absorbing a great deal of signal quickly. I moved it to a much smaller room, and had much more success. Had I intended to keep my HT system in that room, the REL would have been more than enough, especially given the great sound of it. In order to maintain my system in the larger room, I purchased an SVS PC Plus 20-39, for $825, considerably less than the Q150E. The impact was immediate. The floor shook, the walls shook, stuff in the garage below shook. Where the REL could not keep up with my Klipsch high sensitivity speakers, the SVS blew them apart. It is more than I need, but I will keep it for impact......it is nice to be at half gain and wonder if you need to turn it down. I still have my REL. I am going to make it part of a secondary system in the smaller room for now, as I am quite in love with the quality of the sound that it produces. Its small footpritn helps, too. In all honesty, the quality of sound from the REL is as good as or better than the SVS; where quality and not volume is important, this sub is very nice. It is intended to fill in for your main speakers, not blast the windows out in a THX setup, and that is exactly what it does the best.

Similar Products Used:

Klipsch RSW10, RSW12, RSW15. SVS PC Plus 20-39

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 02, 2003]
rob todd
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

for its size, it can push out those low bass notes, feel them rather, given time to set it up correctly you will always amazed it how this little sub can handle those LFE bass notes. DTS sound tracks will blow you away, try GODZILLA on SUPERBIT, those footsteps have got to be true 30hz, feels like it anyway, it can handle them no problems. For its price you cant by better for 5.1 or 6.1 and so on.

Weakness:

Just two things to say, its a bit slow for normal two channel setups, the other thing is that my girlfriend packed her bags, aint seen her since, oh well thats life.

i have my REL200E sub for nearly three years now. I use it mainly for my 6.1 set up, but on odd times use it on my chord elt cpa4000 hifi.Build quality is outstanding. To get the best results out of the REL use the digital output on your surround amp and plug it into the right side phono plug, select mode 3, turn the gain to around the 9,oclock position, then the rolloff around 45hz, try keeping it away from corners of the room, have it facing you next to your front speakers, but not near your tv. IF you can place the sub on a small paving stone, then use a bit of bluetac to stop it moving, try not to use the spikes it came with.

Similar Products Used:

My rel is used along side with my M&K 750THX suround speakers all driven by the Denon avc-A1SR and Toshiba SD-9500

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Aug 30, 2002]
fred van den hoogen
AudioPhile

Strength:

Small design,quality and warranty!Rel makes subwoofers like no one else!!!

Weakness:

none for the moment

I have tried several subwoofers over the last 2 years,that brought me to the RELQ200.This model is suited to small or medium sized rooms. I am a fan of home theater experience,so this little model integrades perfect into my system.I am the proud owner of the mission 78 audiophile home theater series.These speakers are designed to produce sound with exceptional detail and clarity,they produce every subtle nuance and blockbuster explosion just as the film director intended.Personally,the Q200 is brutal;perhaps to much for pure hifi music than you're better of with the ST series.However it's a perfect match!The Q200 produces an amount of seriously loud,yet tightly controlled bass which is perfect for movies!I'm convinced that it's hard to find anything of this size that comes even close...

Similar Products Used:

Kef40B,Tannoy Rsub15,Mission 78as,Rel Strata3.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jul 07, 2002]
Tony
Casual Listener

Strength:

Very musical and clean bass. Easy to set up. Quality product. Size is great.

Weakness:

None

This review is for the Q150E. The Q200E was the closest one. Great subwoofer. Makes music listening and watching movies soooo mmmmuuuuucccchhhh better than before. Can't believe so much bass from a very compact/efficient design.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 27, 2002]
Xenomorf
AudioPhile

Strength:

Will make you feel low frequenties, without loosing quickness, thightness and transparency

Weakness:

At high volumes it sometimes can reach its bottom.

Let me first state that low frequenties should be added careful to the existing system. It should be a perfect balance between authority and transparency. Any attention drawn to the sub is a failure. Is the Q200 capable of the above? I first had the Rel strata III. Absolutely the perfect sub with music, but it lacked authority in hometheater. It sounded too warm and bottomed out too quickly. So I went to my local dealer and was able to try the Q200. I was a bit sceptic at first because of the design, but had confidence in Rel and I wanted to keep the perfect frequenty adjustments Rel subs offer. It is stated that, in subwoofer design, there are 3 possibilities. Small size, low power, and good performance. You can have two of these possibilities, but never all three of them. This design implements small size and good performance at the trade off that it has a lot of power, which is expensive. I hooked it up to my system. I never use the LFE channel because the fixed 80 hz roll-of frequenty is to high. Instead I hooked it up to my power amplifier on the same binding posts as I hooked up my B&W Matrix 802s3. This way my sub gets the same signal as my main speakers. In my room the B&W''s can reach a flat response to 25hz, so roll of frequenty of the sub is set at 25hz. When I turned the system on I was really surprised. With music the sub did not interfere with the natural character of acoustic instruments, though when asked it could produce LF in a very quick, transparent way. It integrated perfectly with my main speakers, as I was unable to hear when or where the subwoofer was playing. With movies this sub really shows its nature. I experienced tremblings like never before. But the weird thing is the thing was able to remain tight and quick. Absolutely no boominess and all of this made explosions and other effects sound more realistic. Next I took my SPL meter and used a frequenty sweep. Now, I had a perfectly flat responce(except for an annoying standing wave between 44hz and 47hz, which had been there before) down to 19hz, with still usable energy at 16hz. I can only say that I am very satisfied and can recommend the Q200 to anyone who seeks a sub for music as well as movies. If you''re only in to music than you MUST try the Strata III.

Similar Products Used:

Auditioned many, but only owned the Rel Strata III besides the Q200

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
4
[Mar 31, 2000]
Chris
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Size, power, overall soundquality, dynamics, integration, need i say more...

Weakness:

Driver not covered by grille, looks do not match the awsome performance. You will have to glue everything in you livingroom.

After some enthousiatic stories about REL subwoofers i decided form my own opinion. Since the main purpose of my system is reproducing movie soundtracks i decided to focus on the Q-series. I started listening to the Q100E and was very impressed, it produced the LFE channel with a kind of "warm force" unequelled by the comparison (Yamaha YST 300, Jamo SW300E). Then the salesperson showed me the Q200E. It looked nice and small but i did not believe it could stand up against the 12" and 15" models. The listening session turned me around. The Q200E sounds like the other models look; "Big and Forcefull". At the same time it is fast with a huge dynamic range. I knew then this was the sub i was looking for. Now, after a few months of listening at home, i'm still convinced that it is hard to find anything of this size that comes even close...

Similar Products Used:

Custom made unit with 15" Lanzar driver, Jamo sub SW400E

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 21, 2000]
Ron Tong
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

tight punch, strong damping effect, smooth integration with woofer,

Weakness:

awkward positions for control knobs (back), high level interconnect cable too thin

It does what its manufacturer claims. For home theater effects, it's impeccable for its size and power --- made my floor tremble when playing "Armageddon". Mortar rounds landing around me on the Normany beach in "Save Private Ryan". But my main concern is, will it give me the lows that I never heard with my Rogers L35A with its woofer tower, driven by a vintage Mark & Levinson ML27 (100 watts duo-mono) and M & L ML26 pre-amp? I have to admit that it can give me 95% of what I would have heard in the church I go to, when I played the pipe organ church music. Not only does it give me the lows, but it provides a deeper ambience and wider audial width. I was very impressed and I think I have got more than I could ever bargain for, at its sale price. Well done, REL!

Similar Products Used:

none

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 1-10 of 29  

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