REL HT/1003 MKII

but Your Wallet or your Room Says No

Perhaps the most dramatic update in the entire HT range is delivered by the remarkable HT/1003 MKII. In theatre, nothing impresses like raw output, even if you don’t use all of it. HT/1003 MKII’s increase in usable headroom confers an ease to the sound that lesser designs can’t compete with. Here, we realize a full 10 dB higher output (that’s twice as loud) over its forbear. As with its larger brothers, HT/1003 MKII receives the full suite of MKII upgrades. First, a higher secondary filter allows energy to extend further up the sonic spectrum means explosions are more savage than ever. Next, an all-analogue PerfectFilter™ lifts and extends the deepest bass. Additionally, an analogue subsonic filter filters out the signals that can lead to damage below 20Hz. All this is packaged in the same sexy, serious look that blends perfectly with our Serie T/x and S for use in HT-3D systems. Also, improvements to driver, amplifier, and filters means this latest version is now a seriously musical sub.

The sexy new cabinetry is bespoke, with new textures, proportions, and finishing touches previously unseen in the category. Lower, sleeker cabinetry borrows proportions drawn from our new Reference models. Through experimentation over the years, we have found that this results in a faster, deeper presentation of bass—all while looking smashing. The eye is immediately drawn to the top panel, which is finished in 5 coats of hand-polished piano black lacquer. A discreet REL logo floats within the top layer of lacquer, whilst the body of the cabinet is clad in horizontally streaked, line-grained composite. The entire affair looks expensive, bespoke, and tastefully restrained. Also, it can be combined with either Serie T/x or Serie S in large, fully-immersive REL HT/3D™ setups.*

HT/1003 MKII’s driver remains a 10” (250mm) CarbonGlas™ construct to keep its overall size reasonable in its role as the powerhouse for slightly more modest spaces. Every component was beefed up—improved in ways both large and small to deliver the greatest performance possible. Lightweight, stiff, and quiet, the combination of glass fibre primary cones with true carbon fibre centre caps results in a cost-effective yet pistonic cone. Larger, more powerful magnets produce greater energy. Upgraded suspension designs with enlarged surround to permit greater travel means output remains under control all the way to the limits of amplifier and driver. The result is prodigious output for this price point while remaining fast and liquid, as do all RELs.

Amplifiers do the dirty work and the heavy lifting in a theatre subwoofer. We turned to a true Tier One amp supplier to build our latest design for us; they didn’t disappoint. They created thicker boards, and upgraded power supplies—all the stuff that, while not sexy, results in a brutally powerful 300W amp (did you know all RELs are specified as RMS Continuous, just like a big, expensive 300 W monoblock amp?) with remarkable longevity. It generates truly awe-inspiring sound. While its theatre applications get all the headlines, its big secret is that it sounds sublime in musical applications. Big and robust-sounding, the HT/1003 MKII is sure to become an instant classic.

PerfectFilters™: Where Perfection Starts

REL input filters are renowned throughout the audio world. They bring together ultra-fast analogue crossovers, customer-designed elevation filters that extend the flatness of deep bass, and integrated limiters that allow all the power to explode outward. This compact series of analogue circuits is REL’s secret recipe in both music and film sound. Refined in this second generation, the secondary filters used now allow extension to a much higher frequency, allowing the rarefaction of air in the sound of an explosion to feel that much more realistic. Additionally, our latest circuit includes an all-analogue subsonic filter that begins as low as 12 Hz to minimize the effects of infra-noise from soundtracks that extends well below the resonance point of the driver. The result is incredible delivered power with the ability to play to the driver’s limit without distortion.

Being wired for sound used to require long runs of cable strewn across the floor. With our optional HT-Air™, great sound can be “un-wired”—replaced by a tiny transmitter and matching receiver that sends an incredibly fast 5.8Ghz wireless signal up to 60 feet without digital compression. This affordable circuit includes the same LSIC chip that powers our state-of-the-art AirShip II, without the expensive discrete analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analog (DAC) convertors. It is perfect for the .1/LFE signals using RCA connectors that are HT/1205 MKII’s primary mission.