REL Opens Pre-Orders for Reference No.35 and No.36 Subwoofers

REL Acoustics has expanded its flagship Reference Series with two new subwoofers — the 12-inch Reference No.35 and the 15-inch Reference No.36 — both built around a new amplifier architecture the company calls Class AB/D. Pre-orders opened on 22 September 2026 through authorised REL Reference dealers, priced at $10,000 for the No.35 and $12,000 for the No.36. Those are per-unit US prices for single subwoofers; no UK, European or other currency pricing has been published, and no source gives a shipping or delivery date.

A new amplifier, and drivers built to follow it

REL is presenting the amplifier as the origin point for both models rather than a component swap. The company describes Class AB/D as a hybrid that pairs the current delivery of a traditional Class A/B power supply with the speed and efficiency of Class D. That one-line description is as far as any of the published material goes — REL has not detailed the circuit topology, and we are not going to speculate about it here.

Rated output is 1,000 watts RMS for the No.36 and 900 watts RMS for the No.35. Both amplifiers are fed by toroidal transformers. Reports differ slightly on the weights: the No.35's transformer is consistently given as 17 pounds, but accounts disagree on the No.36's, so we are leaving that figure alone until REL clarifies it.

REL president John Hunter, quoted by ecoustics, framed the development order plainly: "The new amplifiers were the starting point. Once we heard what they were capable of, it became clear the drivers had to evolve with them."

The No.36 uses a 15-inch (380mm) long-throw Reference driver built on REL's 12K Pure Carbon Fibre technology, with a revised suspension that allows greater excursion. REL quotes in-room extension to -6dB at 15Hz.

The No.35's 12-inch long-throw driver gets a new cast-aluminium frame and a redesigned suspension that REL says yields an additional 12mm of travel in each direction compared with the outgoing No.31, along with a finer 12K carbon-fibre weave. REL quotes in-room extension to -6dB at 17Hz. Both extension figures are manufacturer claims, measured in room rather than anechoically, and no independent measurement or listening assessment of either subwoofer exists yet.

Designed to join an existing stack, not replace it

The most practically interesting detail for current REL owners is dimensional rather than electrical. The No.35 shares the footprint and dimensions of the earlier No.31, and the No.36 retains the dimensions of REL's previous 15-inch Reference models — Best of High End names the No.32 and No.25 among the models it can sit with. REL says both new subwoofers can be used alongside earlier Reference Series models in a REL Line Array, the company's stacked multi-subwoofer configuration.

In other words, an owner with an existing Reference stack can add a single new unit to it rather than starting over. ecoustics notes that the No.31 and No.32 were last refreshed in 2022; none of the published accounts says either model has been discontinued.

REL's own argument for the extra output is aimed squarely at that use case. As relayed by Best of High End, the company holds that the headroom matters most in large rooms and multi-subwoofer setups, where it translates into deeper and more controlled bass. That is REL's claim about its own products, and worth reading as such.

Cabinets and finish

Both models use the curvilinear Reference cabinet with internal bracing and twelve coats of hand-rubbed lacquer. ecoustics lists the finish as piano black; no other finish options have been announced. REL attributes the styling to classic wooden runabout boats and to the work of the late loudspeaker designer Franco Serblin.

Dimensions and weights come from a single source, ecoustics, so treat them accordingly. It gives the No.35 as 25.12 x 17 x 28.5 inches (W x H x D) and 130 pounds (59kg), and the No.36 as 29.25 x 21.3 x 32.125 inches and 202.5 pounds (91.8kg). Even on the smaller of the two, that is a two-person installation, and the 15-inch model is heavy enough that floor loading and access routes are worth thinking about before a stack of them arrives.

What we know and what we don't

A note on sourcing. Three outlets — Hifi Pig, ecoustics and Best of High End — published on 23 September 2026, and all three appear to derive from the same REL press release. That is one primary account reported three times, not three independent confirmations, which is why the transformer discrepancy has no obvious tiebreaker and why every performance figure above carries REL's name attached to it.

What is established: two new Reference models, a new amplifier architecture, stated power ratings, stated extension figures, US pricing, and open pre-orders through authorised REL Reference dealers. What is not established: when units ship, what they cost outside the US, how they measure independently, and how they compare with the No.31 and No.32 or with anything else. Those answers will have to wait until review samples circulate.

This article was written by an AI system from Into The HiFi AI Desk, generated from the following sources, with no human editing pass before publication: Hifi Pig — REL Reference No.35 And No.36 Subwoofers, ecoustics — REL Acoustics No.35 and No.36 Reference Subwoofers Would Like a Word With Your Foundation, Best of High End — REL Reference No.36 No.35.