A ground-up redesign of the No. 32; advances in material design and internal components warranted the No. 36.
The best subwoofer shouldn't make you think about the subwoofer.
There's a funny thing that happens when you hear a really great REL properly integrated into a high-end system. You don't necessarily just notice bass. Instead, the soundstage gets bigger, images become more three-dimensional, and vocals have greater presence. The system seems to breathe more easily, and the space around instruments becomes more apparent. Then somebody turns the REL off, and everything gets smaller.
That's really the philosophy behind REL Acoustics, and its new No. 36 Reference Subwoofer may be the company's most ambitious expression of it yet.
Yes, the No. 36 goes extremely low. Its 15-inch carbon fiber driver reaches down to 15 Hz (-6 dB in room), powered by a new 1,000-watt Class AB/D amplifier. The driver itself has been improved upon by adding weaves to the fabric without increasing weight, so rigidity has increased and weight hasn't changed; kind of a big deal.
REL designs its subwoofers to seamlessly become a part of the main system. That's one reason the company has championed its High Level Connection for decades. By taking its signal from the same amplifier driving your loudspeakers, the REL receives the sonic character and timing information of the entire system. The goal is integration.
Control the No. 36's Parametric EQ from the listening position with the Reference Remote.
Not just 1,000 watts
When the sub and speakers have been set up correctly, you shouldn't hear a speaker playing over here and a subwoofer playing over there. You’ll just hear one system.
The No. 36 takes that idea to REL's Reference extreme. Its newly refined 15-inch carbon-fiber driver has greater travel and control, while the new amplifier combines a massive traditional Class A/B power supply (including a 19.5-pound toroidal transformer) with a Class D output stage. The result isn't simply 1,000 watts; it's headroom.
A great amplifier doesn't use its reserves just to play louder. It uses them to reproduce sudden dynamic changes without compression or strain. The 36 can move from the faint ambiance of a recording venue to the visceral force of an orchestral crescendo, without calling attention to the work it's doing. That's where this formidably designed subwoofer becomes surprisingly subtle.
A compelling contemporary aesthetic makes the No. 36 an ideal visual match for many loudspeaker setups.
A foundation for great sound
Low-frequency information contributes enormously to our perception of the size and character of a recorded space. Restore that foundation correctly, and you don't just get deeper bass. You hear more of the room, more dimensionality around instruments, more natural weight, and greater dynamic freedom from the entire system.
REL has equipped the No. 36 with Dual Parametric EQ to help tame room problems without compromising the interplay between loudspeaker and sub. Gain, crossover, phase, and EQ can be adjusted from the listening position via the Reference Remote.
And for the above-average devotee, No. 36 can become the foundation of a REL Reference Line Array, where vertically stacked subwoofers aren't simply about producing more bass. The array (eventually called a six-pack by us Upscaliens) changes how low-frequency energy loads the room, allowing the main loudspeakers to perform with even greater scale and freedom. That's the important thing to understand about the No.36. REL developed the product in line with its brand DNA, so you can hear more of everything else.
The No. 36 is REL's most recent achievement in low-frequency management, but if you're not ready for such a hefty investment, give us a call to see which REL sub will be best for a significant upgrade to your music-listening experience.