REL Acoustics Storm - Manual (Page 7)

7
ADVANCED SETTING UP
It is an unfortunate fact that most listening rooms are not perfect. Most
suffer from various problems, particularly in the bass. This is why the
majority of sub-woofers will not work effectively in most systems - they
simply overwhelm the system, causing boom and a poor bass
performance. All REL sub-bass systems incorporate special circuitry which
we call the Active Bass Controller, or more simply the ABC. The ABC will
ensure, when set up accurately, that a REL sub-bass matches into your
system precisely. Of course, should you choose to set the controls for a
more fulsome bass, or even a totally overwhelming bass, so be it. The REL
will oblige!
If your listening room has a rather boomy bass, it may be advantageous to
deliberately reverse the phase control on Storm so that partial cancellation
of the bass occurs around the crossover frequency between the REL and
your main speakers. This will require some patience and care over setting
up. But many listeners have reported that what was previously a lost
cause, has been totally cured by this simple expedient. Listeners who have
had to make do with very small main speakers with a deliberately tapered
bass response to offset their poor listening rooms are the ones most likely
to benefit from this option. It is impossible to predict the sound experience
within a room. We at REL realize this and go to great lengths to offer you,
the customer, the means to control the sound within your system. Bass
frequencies are often the most troublesome to predict and control. It is one
of the reasons why some audiophiles have either given up on trying to
reproduce very deep bass within their system or put up with an overblown
bass. REL offers the listener the means to control their system sound.
If you are one of the very fortunate few with a superb listening room, then
keep your phase switch in its normal position and ignore this advice.
However, this switch also allows you to ensure that any phase reversal
within your power amp can be corrected (where the main speakers should
then be connected deliberately in reversed phase). Doing this will ensure
correct absolute phase of your system.
One of the most frequently reported benefits of owning a REL is the
improvement in imaging and depth at ALL frequencies. Many theories exist
as to why this should be, but with many listeners, this has been their most
pleasing and substantial benefit of owning a REL. Strangely, it often occurs
most obviously with those listeners who previously have had the least
interest in deep bass! This effect is most pronounced when the REL has
been adjusted for the flattest, i.e. not a pronounced bass. It certainly
disappears where the listener has it set up to give a deliberately over-blown
or boomy bass.