RSL Speakers Speedwoofer 10S MKII Subwoofer Review

[William Lemmerhirt]

RSL just released their new lower cost 10E. Many of the great attributes of the 10S MKII but for only $299 shipped!

RSL Speedwoofer 10E: Entry Price of Great Bass Just Went Lower!

RSL’s new Speedwoofer 10E is a 10” woofer sub with a 300-watt amp that somehow only costs $300 shipped. Learn how RSL’s brought many of their core technologies to a much lower price point.

www.audioholics.com

I want this thing to beat the 3000micro for a fraction of the price lol.

 

[richard612]

Was group delay tested in LFE mode? I'm trying to time-align one of these (rev 1.3 amp board) with my mains. I've discovered some peculiar behavior surrounding this sub's phase adjustment. At 80Hz it seems to do exactly what it's supposed to do. At higher frequencies the knob appears to behave as low-pass with the least impact at roughly 10-11 o'clock. Yes, I know about phase effects across drivers and yes I had every other driver muted when I discovered this.

Secondarily, I suspect this knob is adjusting an all-pass filter as the phase shift becomes frequency dependent at the high-end. Again, at 80Hz it seems to do what's on the label. At 100Hz the 180° phase flip doesn't appear to be a full 180°. I need to get my hands on a calibration mic and start measuring this stuff...

All this matters because I have dinky set of mains here on my desk with their ports plugged that begin rolling-off around 110Hz. I need my subs to start getting involved up here but with this one sub I'm having trust issues surrounding phase accuracy. Opening the mains' bass reflex ports would extend them down to 80-90Hz but would also stomp Mother Nature's sweet Butterworth rolloff. It also exposes some design problems in these cheap speakers that makes them sound more like, well, cheap speakers.

 

[isolar8001]

I need to get my hands on a calibration mic and start measuring this stuff...

How on Earth are you coming up with all of these wild theories without measuring ?
Just get decent main speakers.

 

[richard612]

How on Earth are you coming up with all of these wild theories without measuring ?
Just get decent main speakers.

My ears. Turn knob, get unexpected result. Not valid?

 

[isolar8001]

My ears. Turn knob, get unexpected result. Not valid?

This is Audioholics, not Reddit.
Don't know what you are or are not hearing.....you also have not stated what the speakers you are trying to blend with are.
Blaming the dissatisfaction you have on an RSL design flaw is a bit premature and probably flawed without measurements to backup your claim of Speedwoofer phase shift issues.

Call RSL and let them know what you are doing and why you believe you have issues.
.

 

[richard612]

How on Earth are you coming up with all of these wild theories without measuring ?

At 80Hz I can either reverse phase at the source or I can turn the sub's knob to 180° -- either way the end result is audibly the same when blending with my mains.

At 120Hz the end result is not quite the same. I'll admit the phase shift could be on the mains side of the equation and reiterate that I do need measurements.

Blaming the dissatisfaction you have on an RSL design flaw is a bit premature and probably flawed without measurements to backup your claim of Speedwoofer phase shift issues.

Look, I'm not "blaming" anything yet. I'm also very satisfied with this product (other than the rev 1.2 plate amp self-destructing but RSL customer service made it good and far exceeded my expectations).

I'm trying to work with what I've got and optimize this system. For all I know the peculiarities I'm observing are normal and expected when going a little "out of range" with a DSP sub amp that offers variable phase control and I need to adjust my expectations. I'm in facts gathering mode; not blamestorming mode. Thus far all you've provided is judgement and condescension.

This is Audioholics, not Reddit.

More condescension.

you also have not stated what the speakers you are trying to blend with are.

Nobody asked. Nor did I join this thread to ask "how do I blend this sub with these cheap speakers."

Just get decent main speakers

Ser I am broke. If I could afford better mains I could also afford a UMIK-1.

At some point I'll come back with REW screen caps and we can try this again.

 

[isolar8001]

At 80Hz I can either reverse phase at the source or I can turn the sub's knob to 180° -- either way the end result is audibly the same when blending with my mains.

At 120Hz the end result is not quite the same. I'll admit the phase shift could be on the mains side of the equation and reiterate that I do need measurements.

Look, I'm not "blaming" anything yet. I'm also very satisfied with this product (other than the rev 1.2 plate amp self-destructing but RSL customer service made it good and far exceeded my expectations).

I'm trying to work with what I've got and optimize this system. For all I know the peculiarities I'm observing are normal and expected when going a little "out of range" with a DSP sub amp that offers variable phase control and I need to adjust my expectations. I'm in facts gathering mode; not blamestorming mode. Thus far all you've provided is judgement and condescension.

More condescension.

Nobody asked. Nor did I join this thread to ask "how do I blend this sub with these cheap speakers."

Ser I am broke. If I could afford better mains I could also afford a UMIK-1.

At some point I'll come back with REW screen caps and we can try this again.

So you come here asking for help and wont give any info on what you are doing.

Are you using an AVR ? Is this hooked up to a PC ?
Why are you even using the variable crossover ?

Who knows...its your part to give all information related to your hookup and not expect someone trying to give advice to beg you for info.
You still won't say what the speakers you are using are. I asked.
Holy Reddit.

Hope you know that main use for the phase adjustment knob on a sub is to sync output to another sub if needed...only rarely is it used to blend in with mains, and it sure sounds like whatever your mains are aren't candidates for that usecase.

 

[Curtdr]

The RSL 10s mk2 is an excellent subwoofer, period. "Speedwoofer" is certainly an appropriate name, as this thing is quick, tight, dynamic, musical, and does everything I personally need for movies and for music. My mains are smooth silky great-imaging and moderately dynamic Q Acoustics Concept 50, but what the RSL does is open up and clarify the mids and highs of the Qs even further, and adds impact, kick, depth, and liveliness to the whole setup... it's the best of both worlds: awesome imaging and non-fatiguing clarity in mids and up top, and the liveliness and kick of Klipsch without the Klipsch drawbacks. No, the RSL doesn't really reach below 20, but I don't miss that at all, even having had it before... the RSL isn't "heavy" and ponderous: it adds life-like liveliness, and that's more important to me for all around enjoyment than making sure sure the "measurements" are flat to 20 or below. The RSL also easily disappears into the soundstage, and I cannot localize it at all (I cross at 60hz... which you might say of course you can't localize but the truth is I COULD localize a much more expensive sub crossed the same way even after dsp manipulation and various locations trials... I don't have localization problems at all with the RSL). I really enjoy the unconstrained live quality of the 10s mk 2. I'm curious about a ported Rhythmik, but it'd have to be the lv12-m in my circumstances which is fine, but I'm worried that although it might play deeper it won't have that same lively quality that the RSL brings.