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SF Grand Pianos/REL Storm III combo - help

Hello, everybody! This is my first post here on Audiogon and it's a troubled one. Recently I've been busy building a decent multichanel system. At the moment I have Sonus Faber surround speakers (Grand Pianos on the front), REL Storm 3 sub, McIntosh MHT 100 receiver, Sony xa9000es SACD player and Denon 2900 universal player. I'm trying to set up the sub for a few days and still can't reach even a satisfactory result. The bass is boomy, muddy and abstract. Given the fact the both the speakers and the sub are supposed to be great components I guess I'm doing something wrong. Anyone has any experience with Sonus Faber and REL? What's the correct set up (my room is about 50 square meters with the wooden floor and it somehows usualy causes boomy bass) or maybe you guys can come up with any ideas?

 
antonkk
adhoc
47 posts
 
Subwoofers, even the best ones, are good for not too good hifi !
It's defintitely a foreign body, especially in stereo hi-fi
flrnlamb
508 posts
 
There in lies the problem most all encounter, even when sellecting the best gear money can buy. Experience and knowledge are where it's at. And good acoustics, setup, tweaking will all be 2/3's of your sound ultimately, regardless.
You likely sit where you have bass challenges, and they correspond with same problems where you sub is, compounding room modes. Also, you likely have phase issues in relation to your speakers from where you sit, and probably volume matching problems...all compounded together.
I'd have to see your setup, and measure.
much more info is needed.
Consulting an acoustical/system setup expert will yield you 200% better results likely. Otherwise, you probably have KAOS with the rest of the speakers in the system, like most.
They all add up, for better or worse...often worse sonically, sadly.
Trial and error is your key if you do it yourself. It might take a lot of time...
mikesinger
572 posts
 
how do you have the rel hooked up ? i really like the rel sub, but it sounds its best using the high level inputs..

the rca connection is less than optimal

i had really great results with a sonus fabers walls and a stata iii sub in my ht setup..( amps were muse mono blocks)...
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