REL Acoustics Celebrates 35 Years With New S Serie Subwoofers & HQ Event

I attended and learned a lot from the team

Celebrating 35 years in the subwoofer business this year was a major landmark for REL Acoustics. On September 23rd, 2025 the company launched a completely new and "reimagined" Serie S line featuring four new models: the 212 Black Label, Carbon Special Black Label, S/850 and S/550.

REL also held a September 17th and 18th event at its Berkeley CA headquarters, inviting journalists from traditional print magazines and websites as well as a group of "brand influencers" to tour the facility and hear from the company's Chief Engineer Justin Magana as well as from company executives including John Hunter, who, in 2005, along with Donald Brody acquired REL Acoustics from its Welsh founder Richard Edmund Lord.

The company then as now is dedicated to providing bass foundation for music reproduction, though it also produces subwoofers for home theater use.

I was invited to the two whirlwind day event, during which REL introduced to us the new Serie S— a complete reinvention of one of REL’s most iconic lines. The models are:

212 Black Label: Twin active drivers and twin passive radiators driven by a 1,000-watt amplifier for effortless scale and composure in large rooms.
Carbon Special Black Label: Pure carbon-fibre driver and passive radiator deliver ultra-fast, transparent bass powered by a 900-watt Linear Class D amplifier.
S/850: The “sweet spot” of the lineup—compact footprint, 850-watt amplifier, and a driver system refined for detail, speed, and impact.
S/550: A reinvention of REL’s beloved S/510 with greater scale

John Hunter, who is also REL’s Lead Designer says,“We took everything we’ve learned over three decades and re-engineered the line from the ground up—drivers, amplifiers, cabinetry, even wireless connectivity.”

The video below is a short company produced compendium showing an overview of the events. The video at the bottom is one I shot and produced that runs a full hour. It is in addition to the one I produced at 2200 Studios, the re-opened reimagined The Record Plant Sausalito.

In the long form video you'll hear the opening introductory remarks by current CEO Alex Brody, get product tech details from Mr. Magana, and a company and product overview from North American Director of Sales Isaac Markowitz. Finally, there's an in-depth interview I conducted with John Hunter, who I've known for more than 35 years. We cover a great deal of ground partly informed by our 35 year relationship (whew!) and I suggest watching it especially if you are interested in a long and fascinating slice of high performance audio history. Hunter, who was formerly with Sumiko, discusses, among other things, his long relationship with Sonus Faber, and its founder Franco Serblin.

Other trip highlights included record shopping at Amoeba, in San Francisco, and a memorable evening concert with blues/folk/soul singer Ruthie Foster

And be sure to read Ken Redmond's 2024 review of the REL Acoustics S/812 subwoofer array