Blog
Serie T/9x and Serie T/9x SE. What’s the difference?
How REL’s T/9x SE Uses Carbon Fibre For Max Acceleration
With the T/9x Special Editions, we’ve taken impressive performance even further. Much like the Carbon Special do for Serie S, these SE models add performance enhancements, including the introduction of carbon fibre into our drivers, resulting in scintillating performance with relatively modest price increases. Oh, and did we mention the $700+/gallon paint? That’s included at no extra cost.
A brief review of the differences between one of REL’s best sellers of all time, our T/9x, and the T/9x SE is in order. In addition to the SE models being offered in several high-performance colors derived from noteworthy high-performance supercars, we added a performance enhancer, which we’ll explain in a moment. To achieve the visual effect and punch these models deserve, we tinkered with the color formulas just a touch, specifically to deliver the proper effect when used on such small surface areas. Compare a T/9x top panel with a modern supercar. A T/9x SE has roughly 1.3 cubic feet of paintable surface. Contrast that with a Lambo, or a McLaren-sized vehicle where we’re talking about 90-110 square feet of painted surface (8-9 sq.M). The way paint refracts light and announces its intensity doesn’t translate linearly, which means that we have to work with the paint formulas and the underlying primer (you DO know that all paint is translucent to one degree or another right?) to ensure that a small object “reads” with as much impact as the actual supercar that wears an almost-identical paint.
Sure, the insanely gorgeous paint might catch your eye, but it’s the audible improvement over standard T/9x that will make you reach for your wallet. Our Director of International Markets, Kirill, recently performed a demonstration of a slightly better-than-entry model of a well-regarded European monitor. At just 2500 euros, they’re lovely and well-balanced but lacking in the bottom octave-and-a-half loudspeaker. He carefully dialed in a stereo pair of the Orange T/9x SEs underneath them and then the dealer compared that speaker system (a tad over 6,000 euros) with a new special edition speaker that said manufacturer brought out just a few months ago. It had very racy lines and looked the part and, at around 18,000 euros, was about three times the price of the smaller stand-mounted monitor and the pair of T/9x SE’s in Orange. In less than two minutes, the dealer, customer, and Kirill concluded that the far less costly REL T/9x SE with the modest speaker’s system, decisively outperformed the much larger and far more expensive floor-mounted speaker.
Kirill noted that what he heard in the smaller system, augmented by RELs, was lucidity and clarity, a kind of snap focus, that one usually only encounters on speakers in the $30-50,000 range. It’s a compliment to the speaker designer that they were able to produce such a beautifully balanced smaller speaker that produced such a range of virtues. However, it was the combination of speed, attack, and deep-down weight produced by the T/9x SEs that won the day. Even trying to adjust the larger, more expensive speakers to even the score wound up producing more, but sloppier bass. Whereas the REL-based smaller monitor system preserved all the leading-edge transients that first-rank speakers aspire to, along with the body and substance as well as the massive soundstage that RELs seem to always deliver.
The secret sauce in the SE is the development of a special pure carbon fibre center cap smack in the middle of the driver that ties all the shear vectors together and won’t let go. When a driver is under tremendous stress, as when asking a relatively small driver to make deep bass or to play exceptionally loud, there are lines of force that seek to stretch and tear the cone apart. The aluminum center cap we use in our standard 9x does a fine job at a very reasonable cost. But it’s significantly improved by the all carbon fibre center cap and it does so while shedding 10 grams of moving mass. Doesn’t sound like much? Imagine if you lost 15% of your body weight, how much quicker could you accelerate, or change direction, or, or, or…? Significantly, is the honest answer. Also, carbon fibre does a far superior job of eliminating the internal resonances and colorations that can creep into a paper cone. So, the benefits are in two complementary areas; one removes weight while the other ties the center of the cone together into a tougher, more resilient whole…all while making the driver itself quieter.
All in all, the T/9x SE range is emerging as one of the coolest high-performance models we’ve ever launched. They’re wonderful fun to look at – my personal favorite is to build stereo pairs out of dissimilar colors. It’s a riot of fantastically brilliant colors—try a red and an orange, or an orange and yellow in one system. It sounds crazy, but looks brilliant. Best of all, they perform even better than they look. At a very achievable price –just $1650 in the United States as of this writing – these must be viewed as a bargain. Perhaps Steve Huff, the highly respected YouTube reviewer summed it up best. After first describing it as museum quality in its paint and fit and finish, he concluded by saying “I was blown away by the speed, the quickness, and the depths to which this sub plummets.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Enjoy!
J
Thank you for reading our latest blog. We strive to provide content that’s both entertaining and educational.
If you have questions or suggestions for future articles, reach out to us at contactus@rel.net. We value your input and will do our best to respond within a few days.
With over 160 years of combined experience, we’re committed to making your audio experience exceptional. If you found value in this piece, please share it with friends who might benefit.