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T/9x The Subwoofer that Does Everything Brilliantly
Music, Home Theatre, Gaming: You Name it, There’s Nothing this REL Doesn’t do Well!
The following a quick primer on REL’s T/9x and is intended to help those trying to decide between the T/9x and either lesser models within REL’s range or other subwoofers in the same price range.
Versatility. Some subwoofers excel at theatre sound; playing loud and extending deep. But ask them to play music and suddenly they’re wearing snowshoes on ice. REL’s T/9x is that rare bird; one that’s incredibly versatile, fulfilling every role imaginable for a subwoofer, while still delivering the goods on all tasks across the board. Gaming? It crushes gaming in its sleep! Music? RELs are made for music! Theatre? A major strong point! T/9x plays plenty loud enough for most home theatre needs, and then some.
REL’s Theatre Reference Mode Delivers Everything Needed. The ability to connect High Level AND .1/LFE simultaneously is one of any Serie T/x’s strengths. REL’s High Level is responsible for a wonderful Full Range transformation of sound when playing music, but also fills out the scale of theatre tracks with the kind of epic size that feels like you just parked an Imax theatre in your living room. Being able to connect (and forget) your .1/LFE into the same sub allows for the special effects on Blockbuster’s and Netflix’s latest offerings to simply dazzle.
Special Effects Anyone? Then there’s its second party trick – the T/9x has its own dedicated .1/LFE input with a separate volume control.This allows your system to deliver walloping special effectsdriven deep bass whenever called for. Even better- because of its ability to connect BOTH High Level and .1/LFE simultaneously, it’s “set-and-forget” when it comes to configuration. People sometimes ask us why the T/9x doesn’t have a remote control. Honest answer? It doesn’t need one! And every competing subwoofer that plays the same sad tune? Well, you know, the old “Turn it up for theatre and down for music…” notion? In truth, that doesn’t work very well, whereas the T/9x delivers both music and theatre experiences with power, grace, and ease.
Drives Harder. Then there’s the T/9x ‘s ability to deliver the goods in medium-to-large rooms. This often becomes the single biggest decision-making factor for customers when choosing between T/7x and the larger T/9x. T/9x sounds rich, full-bodied, and exceptionally dynamic. Both play loud, though here, too, the T/9x plays substantially louder (about + 10dB than the smaller T/7x for you techies out there). But, even if one doesn’t listen at these heroic levels, it’s the T/9x’s ability to more effortlessly drive a room that carries the day in larger digs. The math is really simple, 150 square inches driven by a 300-watt amp ( We’re incredibly conservative in our ratings, btw. . Many other amp manufacturers who use peak power might rate this at 500 watts peak) versus 133 square inches and 200 watts in our T/7x, providing some insight into it’s ability to drive sound. Whether you need that or not really depends on how loud you like to listen, the bass capabilities of your speakers, and the size of your room. When in doubt, use our Subwoofer Finder. You’ll find a link to that tool at the end of this article.
To sum it all up, REL’s T/9x is our best all-around bargain and a best seller in North America. It allows use with active loudspeakers, and pairs with medium-large floorstanders or quality stand-mounted monitor speakers. T/9x handles every aspect of subwoofer duties exceptionally and plays with more than enough volume to occasionally be too much for about 85% of humanity (and I mean that in a good way!) In the end, T/9x simply makes its owners happy. I don’t recall ever speaking with a T/9x owner who didn’t try to sell me on it, and that reflects well on the many strengths and abilities we’ve just discussed.