Reference is the highest expression of REL, but its significance cannot be reduced to cabinet dimensions, amplifier power, driver diameter, or low frequency extension. Those specifications describe capability. They do not describe the moment when a properly integrated Reference subwoofer changes the scale of a recording, clarifies the acoustic space around the performers, and allows the main loudspeakers to sound more complete. That distinction is why No.36 and No.35 are available through authorized REL Reference dealers, where they can be heard, selected, installed, and tuned as parts of a complete system.
A Reference audition is not intended to prove that a large subwoofer can play loudly. That is the easy part. The more demanding achievement is to combine deep extension and immense current delivery with the speed, restraint, and precision required to follow exceptional loudspeakers. When the system is correctly set up, the subwoofer should not pull attention toward a cabinet in the room. It should restore the foundation that lets the entire presentation develop naturally, from the weight and timing of a piano to the air around a voice, the dimensions of a venue, and the effortless rise of a full orchestra. Those changes are difficult to communicate through photography or a specification table. They become clear through listening.
Reference No.36
Contents:
- Why Reference Must Be Experienced
- A Better Way to Audition
- The Technical Work Behind Seamless Integration
- Selecting the Right Reference System
- Installation is the Beginning of the Relationship
- Prepare for your Reference Audition
Why Reference Must Be Experienced
Every listening room imposes its own conditions. Dimensions, construction, openings, furnishings, loudspeaker placement, and the listening position all influence the way low frequencies arrive and decay. Even the finest loudspeaker remains subject to those conditions. A Reference subwoofer gives the dealer the extension, output, speed, connectivity, and adjustment needed to work with the room instead of simply adding energy to it. The objective is not more bass in isolation. It is a more coherent relationship among the loudspeakers, the subwoofer, and the room.
That relationship is easiest to understand during a controlled comparison. Listen first with the Reference subwoofer fully integrated, then have the dealer remove it from the signal and restore it. The most revealing differences may not occur where a first-time listener expects them. The tonal foundation becomes less complete, but the effects extend the lowest frequencies. Image depth contracts. The acoustic around instruments becomes less convincing. Dynamic contrasts feel smaller, and the main loudspeakers can sound less relaxed. Restoring the Reference subwoofer should return those qualities without producing an obvious seam between subwoofer and loudspeaker. The system should sound whole.
This is also why output alone is an incomplete measure of Reference performance. No.36 and No.35 are engineered to deliver profound scale, yet their real authority lies in control. Their driver systems, amplification, filtering, connection architecture, and adjustment capabilities must behave as one. If any element calls attention to itself through overhang, excessive upper bass, or poor timing, the illusion collapses. A dealer who knows Reference will demonstrate not only impact, but also stopping power, texture, dimensionality, and the preservation of musical pace.
A Better Way to Audition
John Hunter recommends beginning a Reference demonstration with simple, intimate material rather than the most explosive track available. A voice and guitar, a small jazz ensemble, or another naturally recorded performance gives the listener time to learn the room and hear whether instruments retain believable size. The guitar should not become unnaturally large because a subwoofer has been added. Instead, the recording space should become more intelligible. Reverberation should decay into a defined acoustic, small ambient details should remain connected to the performance, and the timing of each note should feel intact.
From there, the dealer can increase complexity and level in deliberate stages. A compact ensemble can test image placement, rhythmic articulation, and the system's ability to distinguish direct sound from the room around it. Larger orchestral or cinematic material can then reveal scale, dynamic reserve, and the ease with which the system moves from silence to impact. Three to five carefully chosen selections are usually more useful than a long, unfocused playlist because each track can answer a specific question. Does the room become easier to understand? Do the main loudspeakers open? Does bass begin and stop with the source? Can the system grow dramatically without hardening or losing composure?
Bring music you know well, including material that is not conventionally considered a bass demonstration. Familiar recordings provide a reliable reference for vocal body, instrumental pitch, stage dimensions, and dynamic behavior. The dealer should also be able to explain what has been adjusted and why, then repeat a comparison so you can confirm the result for yourself. Reference is not about accepting a claim of superiority. It is about hearing a repeatable improvement in the system.
Reference No.35
The Technical Work Behind Seamless Integration
A successful demonstration depends on decisions that begin well before the first track. Placement determines how the subwoofer couples to the room and how efficiently it can energize the lowest frequencies. Crossover and level establish the operating relationship with the main loudspeakers. Phase affects the timing and reinforcement through the transition region. REL's High Level Connection allows the subwoofer to receive the same signal character and timing information presented to the main loudspeakers, supporting a more continuous blend. Dual Parametric EQ provides focused control where the room requires it, without turning setup into broad correction for its own sake.
These controls are powerful only when they are applied through careful listening. The dealer must distinguish a room mode from excess crossover, a timing problem from insufficient level, and genuine extension from bass that merely sounds larger. Small changes can be decisive. Position may be refined by inches. Level and crossover may need to move in small increments. Phase must be evaluated in relation to the loudspeakers and listening seat. With pairs or a Reference Line Array, the task expands to include the interaction among multiple sources, their physical alignment, and the way energy develops throughout the room.
The final setting should survive more than one spectacular recording. It should support quiet music, dense music, dialogue, percussion, sustained tones, and the sudden dynamic demands of film. It should preserve pitch and texture at low level, then deliver scale without congestion when the program becomes difficult. This is where an experienced Reference dealer earns the title. The work is not a preset or a single measurement. It is a sequence of informed technical choices, confirmed by listening.
Selecting the Right Reference System
The right Reference solution is determined by the complete installation, not by a simple preference for the larger model. The dealer should consider room volume and construction, listening distance, the bass behavior of the main loudspeakers, typical playback level, musical and theater priorities, available placement, and the owner's expectations for future system development. No.36 offers the greatest scale and authority for the world's most ambitious systems and acoustically demanding spaces. No.35 brings Reference speed, resolution, and power to a more accommodating form. In the correct room, either can be used singly, as a stereo pair, or as part of a Reference Line Array.
Quantity and configuration matter because they change more than maximum output. A stereo pair can improve symmetry, spatial consistency, and the relationship between bass information and the left and right channels. A Reference Line Array places multiple bass sources through the vertical plane, increasing effortless scale while preserving speed and articulation. These are system design choices, not accessories added at the end. An authorized dealer can demonstrate the differences, assess whether the room supports them, and recommend a path that is proportional to the loudspeakers and the listening goals.
Reference No.35 & No.36
Installation is the Beginning of the Relationship
Reference ownership should include more than delivery. The dealer's responsibility continues through placement, connection, mechanical leveling, calibration, listening verification, and instruction. The owner should understand the system's basic controls and know what to listen for but should not be expected to solve every interaction among room, loudspeakers, and subwoofers alone. At this level, setup is part of the product because it determines how much of the engineering becomes audible.
That relationship remains valuable as the system changes. A new loudspeaker revised listening position, different electronics, or a substantial change to the room can alter the optimum settings. An authorized REL Reference dealer has the training and context to reassess the installation and restore the intended balance. Reference systems can also evolve from a single unit to a pair or from pairs to arrays, making continuity of knowledge especially important. The dealer who understands the original goals and installation can help each stage remain coherent.
REL is selective about the dealers entrusted with Reference because the demonstration and ownership experience require commitment. Reference dealers invest in permanent demonstration capability, advanced training, careful setup, and long-term service. For the listener, that investment means access to a system that has been properly prepared and to a specialist who can translate technical capability into a result that fits a particular room.
Prepare for Your Reference Audition
Arrange the visit in advance so the dealer can reserve the room, confirm the system configuration, and allow enough time for meaningful listening. Share the dimensions of your room, the loudspeakers and electronics you use, your normal listening distance and volume, whether music or theater is the priority, and any planned upgrades. Bring several familiar recordings that cover intimacy, acoustic space, rhythm, sustained low notes, and large dynamic swings. During the demonstration, listen for what happens to the whole presentation, then ask to hear the system with Reference removed and restored.
The decisive question is not whether you can hear a subwoofer working. It is whether the entire system communicates more of the performance when Reference is present, and whether that improvement feels natural enough that the subwoofer itself disappears as a separate source. When placement, connection, adjustment, and system matching are right, Reference does not compete with the loudspeakers. It allows them, and the room around them, to reveal more.
Measurements guide the engineering. Music makes the final decision. Experience the Difference. Experience Reference.
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