REL Acoustics No. 32 - 15inch Powered Subwoofer

The REL No.32 enjoys the rarefied position of elevating our Reference range to an even higher orbit. No.32 retains the exquisite beauty of our curvilinear reference cabinets, an updated 15″ (380mm) true carbon fibre driver that boasts 4″ (100mm) of total stroke and our ultra-reliable 1,000 watt amp outfitted with thin film capacitors, higher gain and superior limiting.

The net result is a flagship model that stretched the edge of the art further with superior dynamics, richer tonal color, and a freer, more expressive character that opens up the midranges and highs in an unprecedented manner.

• How to Build Up to a Line Array. 
• How to Setup and Dial in a Line Array

No.32’s 1,000-watt amplifier was also used in its predecessor for over seven years. Thousands of these amplifiers are in use all over the world; they are a paragon of reliability. Its implementation in No.32 combines a new limiter with a much wider envelope to permit the widest dynamic swings possible. Also, No.32’s dual parametric EQs allow for robust and flat response in the lowest ranges, extending below 20 Hz. When its second EQ is set to frequencies above the crossover point, No.32 meshes perfectly with the main speakers while simultaneously reducing room-based resonances.

As with all RELs, No. 32’s heart and soul is its 15” (380mm) driver. The driver’s cone is constructed entirely of carbon fibre. Additionally, a carbon fibre centre cap is overlaid on the primary cone surface. This cone design results in a far stiffer driver that possesses superior self-damping qualities, removing even minor resonances that can obscure detail retrieval whilst keeping moving mass to an absolute minimum. No.32’s driver suspension permits a full 4” (100mm) of travel fore and aft, an enormous amount of travel for such a large driver. These are some of the secrets to its performance. Transparency, allied to tremendous dynamics, is the result.

Take control of your No.32 by grasping the REL Reference Remote Control. Immediately, you will be struck by the perfect fit in your palm, the result of careful thought and numerous generations of trial-and-error fittings during prototype development. The second reaction to it is the awareness of its mass, which conveys its quality, permanence, and immutability. It tells you, “I am a thing of substance, of quality. Pay attention, what you do next matters.” If you have owned a REL in the past (and fully 90% of Rel Reference owners are), all the familiar controls are right at hand, exactly where you’d want them. High (or low if using active speakers) level gain sits comfortably to the right side, the crossover rests in the middle, and .1/LFE gain is off to the left.

Below are three lovely metal toggle switches handle the critical setup functions. The remote’s on/off switch is at the bottom. It is both as out of the way as possible and remains on once turned on and in use during setup without being accidentally turned off. In the middle sits the phase control. This is used only initially to determine the correct 0 or 180 degrees of phase. Additionally, the top access to the Dual Parametric EQ-marked with A and B—permits the flattest, deepest bass and, at the other end of the bass frequencies, the fine-tuning of crossover behavior. This gives you the perfect blending of subwoofer to main speakers and any vestiges of room-generated boom and resonance can be gently trimmed away.

REL’s Reference Remote reminds you of the perfect butler—always immaculate, indispensable when called upon, then quietly set aside until a future time when perhaps additions or further improvements to one’s system further require its services.

Specifications