REL Serie T/7x subwoofer

First, let me begin with an apology. I got into publishing at a time when ‘hot metal’ was still just about a thing and REM and the KLF were in the charts. And in that time, I have never once broken an embargo. Until I flagged up the REL Serie T/7x in one of our Next Issue contents pages! My apologies to all concerned.

In my defence, I was left unsupervised with a really good subwoofer I wanted to discuss and my excitement got the better of me. The new three-strong Serie Tx range represents a new starting place for subwoofer experts REL and the Serie T/7x (in between the T/9x and T/5x) is something of the sweet spot; a good balance between price and performance that makes it the perfect choice for audio enthusiasts in the jumping-off spot for subwoofery.

A subwoofer in an audio setting has to balance bass depth, speed and integration with the rest of the loudspeaker sound. This is subtly different to the requirements in home cinema, where the subwoofer is considered a channel in its own right, rather than a reinforcement to the sound of a pair of good speakers. Get it right in audio, and it’s like you’ve given the main speakers the freedom to be themselves, opening out the soundstage, making the midrange more clear and open, and focusing the sound more tightly and accurately. Get it wrong and you have a speaker that slows the music and booms along with the song, undermining what makes a good system. REL has always batted above average in making a good sub that integrates well into a domestic audio system, so any changes to the REL genome is met with some trepidation.

The T/7x uses the well-trodden path of a front-firing active driver with a down-firing passive radiator; in this case a 200mm ‘FibreAlloy’ long-throw unit with an inverted alloy dust-cap housed in a steel chassis, and a 250mm long-throw unit with its own inverted dust-cap. This is driven by a 200W Class AB amplifier and includes the usual Neutrik speaker-level connector alongside the regular line-level inputs. REL also has an optional ‘Arrow’ wireless connection that can be used with the T/7x. The cabinet is no longer an equal-sided cube; its stubbier look isn’t just decorative, though; although it looks smaller, cabinet volume has been improved slightly over previous models in the same ball-park.