REL High-level connection.

[David A]

T9i won't impress you.

Arup,

We tend to agree on things but I'll speak up for the T9i, at least to a degree.

My first REL, back long before I got my Devialet, was a Strata 3, long discontinued. I never quite managed to get it well integrated in my audio system when I got it and when I started setting up a separate home theatre system in a different room, it migrated into that system and I used the low level connection and Audyssey room correction on a Marantz AVR. The automated setup did a great job of integration and the Strata 3 stayed there until it started to make intermittent noise. By then it was well out of guarantee, the REL service agent in my city couldn't find the fault and couldn't get a circuit diagram for it to help him trace it. I ended up replacing it in the HT system with 2 T9s, no T9i at that stage, and I like the T9s. I don't get pressurisation of the room because it's open plan and open to the rest of the house so the room "leaks bass" like mad hence the lack of pressurisation. They do fill in the bass nicely, however, even if they don't get down to 20 Hz or lower.

I think whether the T9 will satisfy @BoyScout is going to come down to what he wants from the sub. If what he wants is a sense of lower bass than he's getting with his speakers and he doesn't want to get bass down to 20 Hz or to be able to pressurise the room and get that "kick in the chest" feeling, or if his room can't be pressurised because it's open to other spaces, then it may well do the job of supporting the bottom end of his speakers in a nice way. If he wants strong low bass down to  around 20 Hz I agree with you completely. It won't go that low but it may produce useful bass down to around 30 Hz where we find the lowest note on a piano and it's 10 Hz below the lowest note on an acoustic or electric bass. I find that low enough for really satisfying music but it depends on what kind of music you listen to. It's also going to depend on the size of the room but @BoyScout is using standpoint 2 way monitors so I don't think the room is likely to be too big to get a reasonable result from a T9i.

So I'd give qualified support for a T9i. I will say that with speakers the quality of the Guaneri Tradition I think a REL from one of their higher ranges would probably be better in terms of sound quality but I think the choice of specific model depends a lot on just what kind of bass he's looking for and how deep he wants it to go. I no lnoger use a sub in my music system.

@BoyScout,

One thing I forgot to mention was SAM. I don't know how well the integration will work if you're using SAM because the SAM "correction" will also be passed to the sub. It's worth trying but I wouldn't make any predictions about how well it would work. It's worth a try but my feeling is that you'd be better off not using SAM.