REL Acoustics

REL Acoustics was founded by Richard Edmund Lord — the initials of whose name form the brand's name — after his dissatisfaction with the subwoofers of the time. Believing that low frequencies deserved dedicated enclosures and the highest possible quality of reproduction, Lord coined the term "sub bass system" and set about building products that would integrate seamlessly into any hi-fi or home cinema setup.

Among REL's earliest and most significant innovations was the High-Level Input, which allows a subwoofer to connect directly to the speaker outputs of a main amplifier rather than relying on a preamp signal. This approach preserves the character of the main amplifier's sound, enabling the subwoofer to blend naturally with the rest of the system. In 1995 the company relocated to Bridgend in South Wales, expanding its range across multiple price points.

In 2005 John Hunter and Donald Brody acquired REL and continued to develop the brand while maintaining its founding design principles. REL today produces several subwoofer series — including the S, T, and Gibraltar lines — and remains dedicated to the integration of deep, accurate bass with full-range loudspeaker systems.