2 In the rear corner (ideally that which is opposite the primary sub), connect a second REL to the rear
speakers using REL Theater Reference connectivity. The purpose of the rear channel REL is to ensure
proper front-to-rear balance and weight; too often virtually ALL the power and weight in a theater
comes from the front and it produces unnatural weighting as well as hot spots. By placing a rear REL
diagonally opposite, bass transects the room on a tangent and has the effect of greatly smoothing
overall in-room response of your RELs. This unit need not be a duplicate of your primary REL; instead
it should match well with your surround speakers.
3 Connect to the center channel a third REL using ONLY the HIGH-LEVEL connection. This may be easily
accomplished by connecting directly to the connection terminals on the rear of the center channel
speaker. To do so, first twist the red and yellow leads together and connect to the positive terminal,
then connect the remaining black lead to the negative (black) terminal on the rear of the speaker. The
purpose of the third “center” REL is to ensure the center channel can keep up with the scale, weight
and dynamics the main system now has. Location should be anywhere from the opposite corner of the
front wall to somewhere in the middle of the front wall, listen for best integration with the center
channel speaker. Some people prefer to use the REL as an actual pediment or stand for their center
channel, the choice is yours. Again, this unit need NOT be an exact duplicate of the primary REL but
should be chosen for its acoustic ability to mate seamlessly with your center channel.
First, carefully set-up and dial in the primary REL, then move to the rear REL and balance this against the main
REL. Care must be taken to ensure phase is identical on both RELs as accidentally reversing phase of one relative
to the other will result in a dramatic reduction in bass output. Finally, carefully dial in the performance of
the center channel sub. Hint: To make this easier, once the primary REL has been dialed in, unplug it using
the Speakon connection from the system and dial in the rear, followed by the center channel REL.
Genuine sticklers for perfection find it easiest to tune in sections. For example, connect ONLY the L/R mains
and the primary REL. Next, tune ONLY the rear surrounds and the rear REL. Finally, listen to and tune ONLY
the center channel with the center REL.
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