DFW Audiophile Club: Meet 37 - Zoom with Rel John Hunter 10/27/23

What: Zoom meeting with Rel’s John Hunter to discuss subs, master set up, etc
When: Friday 10/27/23
Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound

Comments

  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,877
    Is it possible for non-members to participate?

    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    bcwsrt wrote: »
    Is it possible for non-members to participate?

    Yes
    DM me and I’ll send you the zoom invite
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    It is 6-8pm central
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    Ill see a couple Polkies on tonight.
    Looking forward to it.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,877
    Many thanks!

    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    It took me about 18 months to get John Hunter to do the zoom. He’s not the easiest to pin down
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,701
    @Joey_V Can you also send me the Zoom link/invite?
    2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    tratliff wrote: »
    @Joey_V Can you also send me the Zoom link/invite?
    Send me your email
    Dm me
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    Todd
    It’s at 6p today
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,701
    @Joey_V Just sent it in PM. thanks
    2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    Sent
    See you soon
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    And we are live

    This is amazing
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • tratliff
    tratliff Posts: 1,701
    Was cool. Had to jump off at 7. Gotta watch the series. Go Rangers!
    2 Channel Rosso Fiorentino Volterra II, 2 REL Carbon Limited, Norma Revo IPA-140B, Lumin U2 Mini, VPI Prime w/SoundSmith Zephyr MIMC, Modwright PH 150, Denon DP-59l w/Denon DL-301MKII, WAY Silver 3 Ana+ Speaker Cables, WAY Silver 4+ Interconnect Cables, AudioQuest Niagara 7000 w/Dragon and Hurricane Power Cables
  • bcwsrt
    bcwsrt Posts: 1,877
    This was two hours very well spent. How many times in life does a person get to listen to a leader in the industry convey their passion for the hobby?! John Hunter is the real deal.

    Sincere thanks to @Joey_V and the other members of the DFW Audiophile Club. I know from experience this kind of stuff isn't easy to pull off. Well done.

    Brian

    One-owner Polk Audio RTA 15TL speakers refreshed w/ Sonicap, Vishay/Mills and Cardas components by "pitdogg2," "xschop" billet tweeter plates and BH5 | Stereo REL Acoustics T/5x subwoofers w/ Bassline Blue cables | Rogue Audio Cronus Magnum III integrated tube amp | Technics SL-1210G turntable w/ Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 MM cart | Sony CDP-508ESD CD player (as a transport) | LampizatOr Baltic 4 tube DAC | Nordost & DH Labs cables/interconnects | APC H15 Power Conditioner | GIK Acoustics room treatments | Degritter RCM
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    Amazing

    I enjoyed it very much

    You guys come to our other zooms

    We have done Fremer and Darryl Wilson and Dan Dagostino and Jacob Heillbrunn and Mat Weisfeld and John Atkinson.

    You should keep an eye out for future zooms.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 25,413
    This I could be interested in, Dan Dagostino. I just love his gear, so pleasant to listen to.
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,004
    So, Joey. I had the time to join last night but I am not interested in REL sub's. The sub's I have offer me way more than it would be worth to upgrade/improve. If that could even be done. Probably just a lateral improvement, if anything but at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket to achieve just that.

    With that said, it does sound like this was informational. My questions are this...

    1 - Would you consider a meeting like this worthy of joining, if the aforementioned was where you are at along your audio journey concerning subs?

    2 - If so, what were (bullet points) the subjects that were discussed that would make this worthy of one's time?

    3 - Were you personally taught something (or more) that you previously did not know about?

    I have met some of these folks you mentioned and had GTG's before but sometimes, I simply felt like I was wasting my time, especially with one of the aforementioned industry insiders. Last question. Did you feel as if you wasted yours?

    I will say this, it is nice to speak with industry insiders (the right ones) and glean knowledge/insight from them but I was just wondering what your thoughts were with my inquiry.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • Joey_V
    Joey_V Posts: 8,549
    treitz3 wrote: »
    So, Joey. I had the time to join last night but I am not interested in REL sub's. The sub's I have offer me way more than it would be worth to upgrade/improve. If that could even be done. Probably just a lateral improvement, if anything but at a cost of tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket to achieve just that.

    With that said, it does sound like this was informational. My questions are this...

    1 - Would you consider a meeting like this worthy of joining, if the aforementioned was where you are at along your audio journey concerning subs?

    2 - If so, what were (bullet points) the subjects that were discussed that would make this worthy of one's time?

    3 - Were you personally taught something (or more) that you previously did not know about?

    I have met some of these folks you mentioned and had GTG's before but sometimes, I simply felt like I was wasting my time, especially with one of the aforementioned industry insiders. Last question. Did you feel as if you wasted yours?

    I will say this, it is nice to speak with industry insiders (the right ones) and glean knowledge/insight from them but I was just wondering what your thoughts were with my inquiry.

    Tom

    Hey Tom
    I usually set up meetings and zooms that I find the club might be interested in. So I don’t necessarily organize these meets with my own needs in mind.

    For me, I’m not really in the market for subs because either I already have dual JL 113v2 with a JL CR1 crossover OR I simply listen without subs on my Magico M2 99% if the time.

    That said, I have quite a lot of interest in REL and would not be opposed to doing a deep dive on them if time or money permits someday. My worry with a REL set up is that my room may not allow lots of room for positioning of subs versus working with dsp to correct for the sound.

    Plus if I do rel, I would want a full six pack.

    1. Answer - yes. I view it as an entertainment meeting rather than I’m here to buy something meeting. John Hunter is not just about subs or rel, he has a lot of stories and insights into the industry that I was not aware of. People like him humanize the hobby.

    2. Answer - the zoom was about 2.5 hours. We covered rels inception, early sumiko days, sonus faber, Franco serblin, audioquest, Wilson audio. We also covered masters speaker placement, how to set up subs. We also covered sub design and what makes the best rels the best subwoofers. I don’t think it’s a question of being worth someone’s time - I think it’s a question of if you want to partake in a discussion with other audiophiles in a live setting rather than a delayed forum or bulletin format. To me, that’s why I do it. It takes me about 4-5 hours on the back end to set up a meeting and that’s just the actual time spent logging on emails, corresponding with the guests, timing the meets, making an effort to make contact with the manufacturer, etc… I think it’s worth it.

    3. Answer - yes. I learned about high level and what goes into it. The speed and delay of subs and the electric components. I learned about setting up phase first and foremost. I learned about directivity of bass waves. I learned about how certain rel products are made. Learned about what are the pitfalls of sub design. Learned about the cons of balanced driver design. Learned about which reference tracks to use. Many more to list.
    Magico, JL, Emm, ARC Ref 10 line, ARC Ref 10 phono, VPI, Lyra, Boulder, AQ Wel, SRA Scuttle Rack, Bluesound
  • treitz3
    treitz3 Posts: 19,004
    Thank you for your honest evaluation. Much appreciated. You hit some points to where I would actually be interested.

    I will hit you up on the next one.

    Again, much appreciated.

    Tom
    ~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~
  • displayname
    displayname Posts: 1,148
    I’ve heard noting but glowing reviews from this specific event. Bummed I had to pull out last minute and missed it.
    Analog: MoFi MasterTracker > MoFi UltraDeck > Sutherland 20/20
    Digital: Cambridge CXC / Streaming > Cambridge CXN v2
    MastersounD Dueventi > Rosso Fiorentino Certaldo or Arcam rHead > Hifiman HE4XX
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