RL-s early review

[mrray13 30]

ok folks, here it goes.

First, thanks go to Mike for letting me test out his baby. It is a blast, to say the least.

Second, this is just some preliminary review. I've got some more listening time left and I plan on using it !

Alrighty then, on to the beef;

Vehicle:

2005 Chevy Trailblazer. Factory electrical and Bose sound system.

Amp:

Orion 2500d wired to 3.5ohm nominal (not much choice, eh?)

Box:

2.5ft^3 tuned to 28hz with 32in^2 of port.

Music played:

You name it, for rap to rock to test tones.

Impressions:

Clarity: this thing doesn't know distortion. even when I clipped the amp, distortion is, well, impossible to pick up, to my ears at least. I have not heard a driver this clean, ever. A few get close, like the RE XXX, but none achieve this.

Reproduction: it reproduces all frequencies up to the crossover point very clearly. No muddiness at higher volumes like I experienced with the RL-p(which is going to get another shot in this enclosure soon!) and XXX earlier in this exact same box. It stays crisp and clean throughout. On a side note, just like the SI Mag proto, it's a true subwoofer. Don't set your crossover to 120hz and expect to hear it strongly. Of course, that's box dependent somewhat, but in this application, anything over 60hz and I'm listening to it from the factory 8's (?) in the doors.

Output: AWESOME! Considering that it's getting around 1200wrms, the signal from the hu gets weaker as the volume goes up and it's tuned so low. How's a 137.9 legal, @ 34hz grab ya? Ok, how about a 133.7 legal style @ the headrest and @ 34hz? Ok, how about a 139.3 outlaw/meca style at the headrest @ 34hz? (we should've played with the freq again at the headrest to find the sweet spot, and i forgot to do an outlaw/in the kick reading, will try to get one this weekend). While these numbers might not seem great, remember, box tuned to 28hz, burped at 34hz and a factory sound system that attenuates the bass as the volume goes up. This sub has some serious potential. James thinks a 140 legal with the current setup is possible with some tweaking.

Overall Impression:

This sub just replaced the RL-p as the best SQL driver I have ever heard. The RL-p still has some advantages to my ears, like the ability to play a touch higher while still getting low. But then again, I've played with the RL-p in both sealed and ported alignments. I might throw the RL-s into a sealed......no, no, I can't. It sounds too damn good in what it's in. I can only imagine the output one could gain by tuning higher. Or just how flat the response curve would be sealed. I will say this, a large box(bigger then 3ft^3 ported), for street play, isn't needed. It does a great job in this alignment, so well, that for most people, this set up would work beautifully! Maybe a bit higher tuning to grab a few more upper frequencies. A touch more port area wouldn't hurt for down low. (I got some port noise playing right near tuning frequency).

No, this thing does a great job in 2.5 cubes. Would probably give a flatter response in about 3 cubes. To me, that's not much considering this thing will get stupid low, sound super clean, get seriously loud, look insanely good and all the while in jsut a touch bigger box then normal. But in this age of "superwoofers", 2.5-3 cuubes for a 12 ported is about the norm. So all the big box worry warts, don't. It does it's thing and does it quite well, in a fairly normal sized enclosure.

All in all, this driver is worth every penny that Mike is asking for it, and then some. Great job Mike! IMO, you have a bonified hit on your hands!!

a rl-p vs rl-s vs lightning audio storm review will probably show up sometime this weekend...

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Supa_c 1]

Not to shabby for a SQ tuned enclosure and a H/U that attenuates the bass the louder it goes.

Just run it off your trucks H/U and wire it to the RL-s in the TB.

[psycho72 1]

So would that be a 5 out of 5 cha chings?

[///M5 2,833]

Somethin' finally for the xxx naysayers!

[SoundSplinter 1]

Thanks for the kind review Kent, happy to hear you're diggin' the new product!

I like that freek-a-leek video you posted in your pics thread

I'll be leavin' for a drive up north sometime tomorrow to catch a 6 hour Jerry Garcia tribute show featurin' some 23 muscians so I won't be 'round over the weekend, but I do hope you get a chance to run the head-to-head comparo with the Storm, especially interested considering the Supreme does share a few of the same parts.

Enjoy

[toaster 0]

i cant wait to get an rls 15 into the bed of my reg cab ranger. blow thru time baby!

mikes going to see jerry tribute, and im goin to widespread panic show next weekend.

last dead show i attended was in san diego on 91, they had just switched over to digital procs. got a COOL shirt from that show "Digital Dead." hehehe i got a bunch of cools shirts from a bunch of dead shows, tho.

[80INCHES 0]

wow......thats really impressive

one 12 doing a hair under 140@34hz

wow

i'm getting 2 12's and one orion 2500d and i'm wiring them in paralell to get a 1.75ohm load...so i should get somewhere aoround 2000watts give or take

depending on the box...i think it has the balls to be a 150db daily LSQ sub

80

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

nice review kent, I cant wait to hear it myself

[Impious 1,476]

Great news Kent.

Keep us updated on your thoughts and experience.....

[Nikuk 1]

vid link isnt working for me.

[Devillain 0]

I could only see this one

http://realmofexcursion.com/videos/SoundSplinter/rls12.1.wmv

[cougarballa2k5 0]

So this is all running through the factory head unit & equalization right? I did that in my explorer and was like damn...this is chitty. Put my cd player in, no more factory equalization, HELLO LOUD.

If you are hitting those #s with the factory hold-back...I can see 140s legal easy.

[psycho72 1]

anymore news?

[mrray13 30]

So this is all running through the factory head unit & equalization right?  I did that in my explorer and was like damn...this is chitty.  Put my cd player in, no more factory equalization, HELLO LOUD.

If you are hitting those #s with the factory hold-back...I can see 140s legal easy.

those numbers are indeed with the factory "hold-back". the RL-s did 137.9 legal on a TL off a factory GM head unit. (well, it did have help from the orion 2500d wired at 3.5ohm nominal).

james, as in defending street a world champ (though he's having a few issues as of right now,lol) thought with a lil tweaking, we could have gotten a 140 with the setup as is. but i was beyond pleased with the 137.9.

psycho, only news is the rl-s is on it's way to jellyfish to play with. the rl-s is one monster of a sub. loud, low and clean. it's jsut simply one of the best, if not the best, sub i have ever had the pleasure of listening too. even in a box considered too small, by parameters, it is one awesome machine!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[jellyfish420 0]

So psycho, only news is the rl-s is on it's way to jellyfish to play with. the rl-s is one monster of a sub. loud, low and clean. it's jsut simply one of the best, if not the best, sub i have ever had the pleasure of listening too. even in a box considered too small, by parameters, it is one awesome machine!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

now its time for the REALLY big boxes.

[Jordan94z 0]

Pffffft it can't even hit 150 what a weak speaker

[psycho72 1]

psycho, only news is the rl-s is on it's way to jellyfish to play with. the rl-s is one monster of a sub. loud, low and clean. it's jsut simply one of the best, if not the best, sub i have ever had the pleasure of listening too. even in a box considered too small, by parameters, it is one awesome machine!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Would you comment on how it compares and does not compare to a RL-p.

[hzsogood 0]

So this is all running through the factory head unit & equalization right?  I did that in my explorer and was like damn...this is chitty.  Put my cd player in, no more factory equalization, HELLO LOUD.

If you are hitting those #s with the factory hold-back...I can see 140s legal easy.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

those numbers are indeed with the factory "hold-back". the RL-s did 137.9 legal on a TL off a factory GM head unit. (well, it did have help from the orion 2500d wired at 3.5ohm nominal).

james, as in defending street a world champ (though he's having a few issues as of right now,lol) thought with a lil tweaking, we could have gotten a 140 with the setup as is. but i was beyond pleased with the 137.9.

psycho, only news is the rl-s is on it's way to jellyfish to play with. the rl-s is one monster of a sub. loud, low and clean. it's jsut simply one of the best, if not the best, sub i have ever had the pleasure of listening too. even in a box considered too small, by parameters, it is one awesome machine!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That is a nice score man, was thinking bout checking out a rl-s, but wanted a good review first. Btw how much power is that getting anyways at 3.5 ohm s , cuz i dont wanna put anything down or get flammed on my first post but i did a 140.8 with my 12w7 in a box tuned to 28 at 36 hz on the new tl's ... with a 1000/1 on it, nice score tho .. i still wanna see CA&E do a review on the w7 rl-s and the new xxx.. that would be a good review for all the hype LSQ sub peeps like me

[mrray13 30]

So this is all running through the factory head unit & equalization right?

[80INCHES 0]

wow is all i can say

80

[mrray13 30]

psycho, only news is the rl-s is on it's way to jellyfish to play with. the rl-s is one monster of a sub. loud, low and clean. it's jsut simply one of the best, if not the best, sub i have ever had the pleasure of listening too. even in a box considered too small, by parameters, it is one awesome machine!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Would you comment on how it compares and does not compare to a RL-p.

ok...

sound quality....right up there with the best. both subs. if i had to pick a winner, i think it would be the rl-p. but remember, i have more time with the rl-p. it's a bit crisper, and IMO, does a slightly better job up high (aroudn the 80hz mark). but again, the rl-s wasn't in what would be deemed an optimum enclosure. both are excellent subs, both get real low, the rl-s is a touch slower in the transistions, but is cleaner then the rl-p. IMO, the rl-s is definitely for the true audiophile. it's that clean. at all volumes..

output.....well, i haven't had a chance to meter my rl-p in the same enclosure yet. the rl-s did a wonderful job on the meter. teh rl-p sounds a bit louder, but until i mic them, i'll withhold any actual statements. what i will say is this, off 1200wrms, they both get loud...lol.

power handling.....the rl-s wins here. while i never gave it more then ~1200wrms, i'd be of the opinion that it could handle quite a bit more. it doesn't need anymore to reach xmax, i don't believe. but would handle it. the rl-p is at it's highest mechanical limit with 1200, at least in this enclosure. but then again, it's only rated for 500...and it certainly doesn't need 1200 to do what it does best!

all in all....i believe the rl-p is still my favorite. while not quite in the same league as the rl-s, it's certainly no slouch. maybe it's because i'm used to that inheirent amount of distortion most subs introduce, gives me that "warm" feeling. i don't know. but while the rl-s is loud, low and clean, it just seems to be missing something to my ears. like it's too clean. but then again, i'm a basshead, not a squeer..

i can't wait for jelly's review. he's owned rl-p's. be nice to see what he has to say.

i do know this, u can't go wrong with either in ur system!!

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[cougarballa2k5 0]

If it sounds better, gets just as loud...how is it not in the same league? :-p

[Supa_c 1]

It moves a crap ton and has a massive magnet on it

[mrray13 30]

If it sounds better, gets just as loud...how is it not in the same league? :-p

sounds better to my ears, but isn't as distortion free. the rl-s does everything the rl-p does, only cleaner.

as to output, that's going by ear. i will put it on the mic though.

no, ounce for the ounce, the rl-s is a better woofer for the guy wanting it all. ultimate clarity, great output, killer looks, really big power handling and smooth transistions, that is the rl-s.

great clarity, great output, killer looks, big power handling and smooth transistions, that is the rl-p.

kinda like the good, better, best thing. sometimes there isn't much that seperates the three, but there is always something. in this case, it's the clarity and power handling. the topology is super clean and strong. and that's what puts the rl-s just above the rl-p.

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[Supa_c 1]

I like my comparison better