Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Subwoofer recommendations

So I’m setting up a cinema system in the loft of a house we just moved to, consisting of:
- G61R SL
- HD621
- hDFury
- DSP5200 SE fronts
- DSP3300 centre
- DSP3200 surrounds

The room it is going in is unfortunately(?) huge, c 4m wide by 12m long with 2m ceiling (albeit not totally flat) and can’t be acoustically separated.

Any suggestions for an economical subwoofer match ? The obvious and highly uneconomical choice is an REL 212SX, possible two.

Appreciate any thoughts. Otherwise I might run 5.0 for a while and add a more costly sub when funds permit.

Cheers

I can highly recommend combining multiple MJ Acoustics Pro 50's with Meridian subs, like an M1500/D1500.
Makes for a great budget friendly setup.

Or a velodyne DD15(+) or DD18(+)

JL, Rythmik, Velodyne or REL.

I would consider an Arendal sub and maybe running two. Big plus is that you can try for 60 days without hassle so if it does not work you can send back. Also well set up with customer services to talk through your set up and room size before making any commitment.
Can’t say they are the ‘best’ but I think they are quite well priced. I think well made too.

I've got 2 BK Monolith + in my setup and it's definitely more than enough. You could probably get away with one in reality.

I had wondered about these and whether the pricing was a bit “too good to be true”, so interested to hear this

Too bad you are in the UK. I have two JL AUDIO Fathom F113 subwoofers that need a home.

Keep hearing good things about SVS. These 16” sealed subs get rave reviews at a great price - SVS SB16-Ultra

V2s? Those are awesome subs. Their home stuff has the same pedigree that their car subs have. I had a JL stealthbox with remote level control when I had a VW GTI with the dynaudio OEM speakers 10+ years ago, loved it.

I heard the 113s at a dealer with Be tweeter large Focals which kicked ass. Super tight, deep and pressured the room extremely well. They're comparable to the REL Carbon 12", Velodyne DD series. Definitely outclassed my 812s, which I plan on upgrading to Carbon Specials soon.

One thing that has dissuaded me from ever trying JL for in my own system is the xover can't be bypassed and they offer no separate discrete LFE signal. This is something IMO that REL and Rythmik get right. Movie LFE is a DISCRETE effects channel, not just subbass reinforcement, and includes frequencies as high as 100-120hz for said effects. So it should always be a discrete separate input with no xover imposed on it otherwise you're throwing away information.

Where as the low level/speaker high level signal is a separate full range signal augmenting your mains and crossovered for them specifically. Most processors also will send smaller speakers in the system (multi-channel) with an xover set for them in the processor over the .1/LFE output, so they share that output with the LFE and thus need know further crossover. And if you set them as large, each would need a separate setting anyway so it doesn't work. So one can see the issue with that approach. One main input with a crossover that can't be bypassed in a mixed HT/Music system with speakers of various sizes will always be a losing compromise. Also in this day and age of outboard DIRAC/DSP, RELs all analog approach is beneficial IMHO. Different strokes for different folks.

Shame about OP being on the otherside of the pond as stereo JL 113s would be an outstanding choice for their 2ch DSP8K system, certainly an equally good choice as a single REL 212/SX.

I bet you would sell them fairly quickly if you listed them on Audiomart or Audiogon, Bruce

Just got them last night as they were included in a system from an estate that I purchased.

They appear to be based (think they are closely related) on the old RELs such as the Storm, Stentor etc. I believe the amps and/or cabinets were made by BK for REL before they went East.

Solid construction, the piano black ones are great. If you're anywhere near Shropshire I would be more than happy to demo.