RSL Speedwoofer 10E: Entry Price of Great Bass Just Went Lower!

RSL New Sub 26Hz Extension for $300 Shipped?!?

RSL has found remarkable success with their Speedwoofer 10S series, now in its MKII edition. They capitalized on that success with their much larger and higher-performing Speedwoofer 12S. Today, RSL attempts to lower the entry bar to great bass with their new lower-priced Speedwoofer 10E. The Speedwoofer 10E is significantly less expensive than the 10S, and that all helps to make it a far more accessible sub for a lot more people.

On the surface, the Speedwoofer 10E looks to essentially be a version of the 10S but with features and niceties removed in order to make it more affordable. The basic enclosure design and dimensions are the same as well as the use of a 10” woofer. However, RSL tells me that the 10E has been engineered from the ground up to maximize performance at its price point. While the driver looks the same as the 10S, it is an entirely different design that is optimized for the 300-watt amp used. There are structural changes made to the amplifier to make it less expensive without losing a lot of performance. And while the basic enclosure design is similar to the 10S, there are differences in the port design that should make it less costly to manufacture.

RSL 10E vs the Venerable 10S MKII

To be sure, there are compromises that must be made to lower the cost. One such compromise is a bit less bass extension than the 10S; this can be gleaned from the +/-3dB frequency response window in the specs where the 10S has a 22Hz extension as opposed to the 10E with its 26hz extension. Nonetheless, 26Hz is pretty darn good for a $300 subwoofer shipped to your door! The 10E also has to give up some features as compared to its more expensive brothers such as speaker-level connectivity, signal output connectivity, DSP modes, and different finishes. With a less powerful 300-watt RMS amp, it probably doesn’t quite have the output potential as its more expensive RSL brothers, but 300 watts is a lot for a sub at its price point since most $300 subs typically have 150 watts or less. The amplifier power difference alone won’t translate into a major output penalty; all other things being equal, an extra 100 watts on top of 300 would only translate into an extra 1.2dB of output. However, the 10S MkII has a more sensitive driver, so its extra efficiency combined with it slightly more powerful amp will likely net more headroom than just a 1.2dB gain.

Many of the core technologies of RSL’s higher-end subs have made their way into the 10E. The Speedwoofer 10E still uses RSL’s famous ‘Compression Guide Technology,’ a slot port system that divides the internal space of the sub into different chambers so that rear backwave pressure from the cone compresses and expands in a way that reduces resonances. As with RSL’s other subs, the 10E uses highly efficient class D SMPS amps that RSL has branded their ‘XDR’ amplifier (where XDR stands for eXtended Dynamic Range). It also has a similarly smooth kevlar reinforced cone with an NBR surround like the 10S and 12S.

RSL has always provided extremely competitive products in all of their price classes, and it looks like the Speedwoofer 10E will follow that trend. We intend to find out for ourselves since we are planning a full review of it. In the meantime, we applaud RSL’s decision to bring their exceptional engineering to a much more affordable pricing for a lot of people. Stay tuned to Audioholics to see how much subwoofer RSL Speakers can deliver for such a low price.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.