REL BassLine Blue sub cable

pearsall001 · January 1

Does anyone have first hand experience with the Bassline Blue cable on their REL sub. I'm giving it some thought for my dual T/7x subs.
I know other cable companies also make a REL sub cable...Kimber, Analysis Plus, AQ, Morrow, Signal cable to name a few.
I'm just wondering if REL does something different to better match up with their subs. The Blue cable gets great reviews as do the others. Your thoughts.

bcwsrt · January 3

Hey, Phil. I was giving your thread some time to see if anyone else responded since I'd already replied with the below in your earlier REL thread:

bcwsrt wrote: »

For me, the cables did exactly what REL describes they do for the sound. Something about “illuminating” the soundstage, or however they talk about it. Just really opened up the mids in my system, along with a slight tightening of the bass, itself. It was pretty dramatic what they did for the soundstage imaging. Instantly noticeable.

But what I like as much or more than the sounds is that I could get a more reasonable 3m length to replace the 10m long stock cables and also they are terminated with spade terminals and not just bare wire.

As far as cables go, the REL Baseline Blue cables were one of the most, if not the most, noticeable of any cable changes I've made in my system. And that's with the smaller T/5x subs that I am running. Surprisingly opened up the main speakers more than any perceived impact on the subs, themselves.

I don't have any comparison to the other brands you mentioned, though. I decided to stick with the REL branded cables.

pearsall001 · January 4

bcwsrt wrote: »

Hey, Phil. I was giving your thread some time to see if anyone else responded since I'd already replied with the below in your earlier REL thread:

bcwsrt wrote: »

For me, the cables did exactly what REL describes they do for the sound. Something about “illuminating” the soundstage, or however they talk about it. Just really opened up the mids in my system, along with a slight tightening of the bass, itself. It was pretty dramatic what they did for the soundstage imaging. Instantly noticeable.

But what I like as much or more than the sounds is that I could get a more reasonable 3m length to replace the 10m long stock cables and also they are terminated with spade terminals and not just bare wire.

As far as cables go, the REL Baseline Blue cables were one of the most, if not the most, noticeable of any cable changes I've made in my system. And that's with the smaller T/5x subs that I am running. Surprisingly opened up the main speakers more than any perceived impact on the subs, themselves.

I don't have any comparison to the other brands you mentioned, though. I decided to stick with the REL branded cables.

Hey Brian,

Thanks for refreshing my memory from my original post.
I definitely have to revisit the Bassline Blue REL cable. It sounds like you're more than pleased with the before & after when you added the cable.
The other companies REL cable also get great reviews, but I can't find any direct comparison with the REL cable.
Did you buy your cable directly from REL or a distributor.

Phil

bcwsrt · January 4

I took advantage of Upscale Audio’s 15% loyalty discount. Lessened the pain some. They are pricey, but I thought well worth the cost after getting them.

Upscale actually didn’t have them in stock at the time, but they were shipped directly from REL a short time later.

pearsall001 · January 4

Thanks for the info about Upscale Audio.

bcwsrt · January 6

Well, this was timely. Just came in their email today, in case you’re not subscribed, @pearsall001. Of course, it is a marketing communication, but there is still some good info in there specific to REL subs and how cables work with them.

https://rel.net/blog/2021-03-08/setup-deep-dive/revisiting-bassline-blue/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=2024-01-06_marketing.comms_content.rel.blog_consumer.and.dealer_usa.and.everyone_revisiting.bassline.blue.blog_no.test&utm_content=Revisiting Bassline Blue&_kx=eiS-iBPqDtmHZ3wV80jD-16li0qolaYBVri65zDZsKs=.JVhXmT

Man, that’s a looooong link!

pitdogg2 · January 6

From the ? down is all tracking bs

bcwsrt · January 6

Son of a …

And I can’t edit it anymore. Sorry.

pitdogg2 · January 6

Roooooookie

kevhed72 · January 7

pitdogg2 wrote: »

From the ? down is all tracking bs

Good to know!

mantis · January 7

SO ok I have been a very long time fan of REL subwoofers and the different technology they bring to the table.
With that being said, I strongly question this. Real provides a good quality cable in the box for their subwoofers to be wired with a high level signal. So lets look at that. The reason according to REL is that they track the dynamics of your output of your amp. So that the dynamic range is being matched exactly to what your speaks are getting and the balance of Bass is matched. Ok in theory that makes some sense to me and I have used it many times and believed into this.

But Most of the time, ,especially if your not pushing your amps to their limits with line level signals, the amp will only outlet the dynamic range given by the preamp outlet. So tracking really isn't an issue as I have experienced it over the decades and a simple line level connection to your subwoofer doesn't change dynamics of your system.

So again, lets be clear, if your amp is not keeping up with the exact dynamics of the preamps output, I can see this being a benefit, the REL speaker level input will now track it correctly. Never will it be higher.

So having this more expensive cable in place, spending the money on it as it's not a cheap cable depending on length you buy and you will need 2 Phil , the benefit that in my opinion simply I don't think will be there. The provided cable from REL in the box will work as intended. All the decades of REL subwoofers I have used , and I have replaced that cable with higher end cables for longer lengths never improved anything. It basically sounded exactly the same as long as I match the gauge per length of wire I was using.

So in my opinion, I don't think IF I was running REL subwoofers, I would be tracking down these cables. My reason is I probably wouldn't use it from what I have learned about bass over the years and I would just use as I use my subwoofers now which are not REL I would use a RCA connection. The Dynamics are going to be exactly the same because the bass signals from my or your system are going to be dynamically the same. Again unless your amps can't keep up with the required demand of the dynamics of the line level signal to match Speaker output , this is the only place I can see this being a benefit and honestly the cable in the box does that job perfectly.

pearsall001 · January 7

Good read Dan, to be honest I'm definitely on the fence on this one especially since I need 2.
As far as I can tell the stock cord supplied definitely is doing the job because the dual T/7X sound awesome - have really opened everything up. No complaints whatsoever.
But you know how things go we're always looking to up the antye.
And as far as running line level, that ain't happening because I'm bypassing my tube pre & running the DAC straight to the A21+ amp. Sound wise much more enjoyable to me.

F1nut · January 7

But Most of the time, ,especially if your not pushing your amps to their limits with line level signals, the amp will only outlet the dynamic range given by the preamp outlet.

LMAO...say what!?!

bcwsrt · January 7

Dan, that's one confusing post! You mention the benefits of REL tech, but then say you would run RCAs "IF" you were utilizing REL subs?! That's 180 degrees contrary to what REL recommends.

Also, I feel the need to point out the obvious ... the OP is asking for "first-hand" experience with the Bassline Blue cables. I see a number of "in my opinion ..." and "I don't think ..." statements in your post.

I stand by my prior comments about these cables based on my actual utilization of them in my system.

REL BassLine Blue sub cable

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