The REL Planar series has two models, the PL-1 and PL-2, in a narrow design intended to go near walls.
These look like they're for the in-wall crowd, but wow, they are so not.
John Hunter, owner and head designer of REL, stared at his Classic 99 subwoofer and thought about how its single driver fires downward, causing the bass to crawl along the floor and then spread through the room. He thought, "What if I turned the sub on its side, and let the driver play against the wall?" It seemed to him that the bass wave would disperse even better, climbing the wall to gain impressive height while still retaining its potency.
That's how REL Planar was born. It's a totally new, narrow-profile subwoofer design intended to be near a wall. It has one or more smaller front-facing active drivers for the initial attack, and a large rear-facing passive that delivers the bulk and scale. John and team worked a long time to get those active front drivers "to make the rear passive do things that we never thought could be done".
The result? An engulfing wave of bass energy that has the scale and height we've come to expect from the REL 212 or six-pack, with the incisive start-stop that we know so well from the single-front-facing driver subs. It's all a little befuddling because the Planars look like lifestyle products for in-wall home cinema use, but have a build and performance that qualify them for the most demanding stereo systems, especially in smaller rooms.
Meet the Planars
There are two REL Planar models, but let's get this out of the way: The name comes from the look, not the technology. To make a planar-driver subwoofer, it would need to be at least the size of a door.
The PL-1 ($2,500) features two front-facing 6.5" actives and a 10" rear passive radiator, powered by a 300 W Class-D amplifier. The PL-2 ($3,300) uses a front-firing 8" active driver and a rear-firing 10" passive radiator, powered by a 550 W Class-D amplifier.
Both are intended to be wall-mounted (this is not an in-wall design) or used with the accompanying Planar Cart, which is actually a serious speaker stand. The subs weigh 42 lb. and 45 lb., respectively, so the cart's wheels help with both big moves and fine placement. (An aside, the Planar Cart was inspired by Finnish designers Alvar and Aino Aalto's famous tea trolley.)
Both subs work wirelessly with the included AirShip Direct, which is so stable and has such low latency that its performance exceeds that of wired setups. The Planar's overall convenience allows subwoofers into rooms that previously didn't have the width around the speakers or depth behind them to deploy Serie T/x or S.
Some Tips for Planar
The REL Planar is a design departure for REL, so here are some pointers we gleaned from our recent training with John Hunter and Paul Magee.
- Either wall-mount the PL-1 or PL-2 or use the cart. Don't place them on the floor
- Don't put them right up against the wall. There's a spacing arm provided to find the correct distance from the wall and to stabilize the unit
- Don't place them on the side walls. Use the front-to-back distance to let those bass notes stretch their legs
- Pairs work better for true high-fidelity systems, and REL is developing a six-pack option
If you've been longing for subwoofers but just don't have the room, contact us to see if REL Planars are the solution for you.