Our new Planar subwoofers have arrived, and one of the most common questions we hear is simple: Which model is right for my system?
In this video, REL Chief Designer John Hunter breaks down the differences between the PL-1 and PL-2, explaining how room size, speaker pairing, listening habits, and application all play a role in choosing the right Planar for your space.
The transcription of the video can be found below:
PL-1 vs PL-2: Understanding the Core Differences
Planars exist as two different models. There's a PL-1 which is a smaller piece. There's a PL-2 which is a larger piece. There's a pretty substantial cost difference between the two, but there's a pretty big performance differential. And the bigger one is better in every regard, but there are times when the smaller one is more appropriate.
We're going to help you figure out how to make those decisions between the two. The PL-1 is an amazing little piece. It is incredibly compact and beautiful. People are free to buy it just because they love the way it looks. It doesn't take over rooms. This is really quick. This is really incisive. It's capable of being super delicate.
Frequency Response, Depth & Output
We've got a 300 watt with a pair of 6 1/2s and a 10-inch rear firing passive radiator, which is kind of the magic to the whole thing [PL-1]. 6 1/2s typically can handle about 150 watts if they're really well made, About 150 watts each, which is why we paired it with our 300 watt amplifier. These play plenty loud. We were doing some max level runs a couple weeks ago. We're getting 105 dB out of this guy. Now, that is loud. That is louder than most people will ever listen to their home theater at.
The big guy here goes down another gosh 7 to 8Hz lower than the PL-1. It also plays about 5 dB louder. That's a big difference. We've got a 500 watt amplifier that's just coasting along with an 8 inch driver that's got to have an inch and a half almost 2 inch of stroke to it. It's that ground pounding reality, right? When you get an 8 inch stroking back and forth, it can hit really hard.
And this one, as you can see, is a flat piston, right? This is a different kind of a cone than you're typically seeing on subwoofers or speakers. That gives it this enhanced ability to not localize it. When you hear this driver doing its thing, it just fills a room effortlessly. There's no work going on here.
Of course, we also have a 10-inch passive back here, which extends even deeper than the front. This one's a bit bigger. It's a little brawnier. It's got a little more heft to it. It just fills large spaces with a tremendous wave of bass.
A PL-1 will give you a clean 34Hz. And that's quite deep, by any traditional standards. If you're listening mostly to jazz or to rock, that's pretty much everything other than EDM that you'll ever hear in the way of depth.
[PL-2] This guy's good down to about 25Hz. That 7 to 8Hz difference is an entire class difference. 7 to 8Hz once you start getting down below 30Hz is a whole different category. Frankly, in the big subwoofers, when you get to 3Hz difference, that's the difference between holy cow and oh, that's very deep bass.
System Integrations & Applications
When you look at the difference between the two, ask yourself what is the application.
So let's take a traditional system, a two channel system just to start with. Obviously we can adapt these into theater applications too.
I would say that what you look at when you see a PL-1 is either medium to smaller floor standers and any of the stand mounted monitors.
It's tremendous.
It's articulate.
It's delicate when you need it to be.
It blends beautifully.
Those 6 and 1/2s have just beautiful carriage up into the mid-range. Really, really beautifully done. They can be something that isn't overwhelming for a moderate to medium sized speaker.
The PL-2 never overwhelms, but it's got the ability because it goes so much deeper. It's got the ability to go down and grab hold of deeper bass, and that gives it the ability to blend better with rooms and speakers that are larger.
It is richer in body.
It's fuller.
It's got a larger scale to it.
So, when you start going into open floor plan and you want to fill a lot of that open floor plan space, you're going to be better served with the PL-2 versus the PL-1.
If you're talking about apartments, lofts, European flats, European smaller homes, PL-1's may be more than enough for you. If you're talking about in walls or in ceilings, do you really need the extra power and performance of a PL-2? You might be better served by having a couple of these sprinkled around the house and have it integrate better than worrying about having a big one or a couple of the big ones that might actually be almost overwhelming for your in ceilings.
Center channels.
This is amazing.
Rear channel subs that produce bass and space.
I mean really space that enveloping three-dimensional aural reality that we all crave out of great home theater. These guys can do it better than this.
Which Planar will you choose?
And so, as we always say with all of our stuff, horses for courses, we build different models to satisfy different needs, but ultimately it's going to come down to space, space utilization, your applications, and your budget.
This has the capacity to sound bigger, go deeper, play louder, and is just more effortless than this. This has the ability to be incredibly precise, articulate, delicate when called upon, and still go down and deliver the goods. And both of these, it's really important you get this, both of these are not lifestyle pieces.
People who don't listen to these won't understand how amazing their performance is. This is that perfect fusion of design forward and incredible performance.
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