“The REL S/812 is the third powered subwoofer I have owned over the past 30 years. I can now say, it is by far the best I have ever had in any of my hi-fi systems. Fit & finish is superb! There is an abundance of power that never seems to find a limit. It will play very deep and very loud, effortlessly. After closely following the "break-in" procedure (you can find this on the REL website) there is an obvious change in the woofer performance. Read what they have to say about following the procedure and what the outcome is. It is absolutely true. Do yourself a favor (if you purchase this subwoofer) and buy the Sneakers movie soundtrack (as REL recommends). It really is the perfect material for aiding you in locating the best position for the subwoofer in your listening room. Once accomplishing the setup procedure for proper placement you can then dial in the best performance for integrating with your main speakers and for your listening position. A little tweaking on the gain and crossover controls over the next couple of weeks and I now have a very well integrated performance of this subwoofer with my main speakers. The depth of low frequency performance is stellar. Very, very deep and very, very accurate. The definition of low frequency bass information is astounding. Absolute deep bass with precise clarity. And it also is true that once this woofer is properly balanced with your main speakers the overall presence and definition of all other musical information becomes ever more, well, musical. Once properly set up the low end information seems to have a unified symmetry in the overall music system. I no longer hear the subwoofer, as in my past subs. The truly deep bass just happens and carries an image with it that is exactly where it should be. For example, if the recording was engineered for the bass to be well placed in the center, that is exactly what you get. This is by far so much superior than how I heard my previous subwoofer "coming at me" from it's physical location. It's "magical". My system has never sounded this good. What an awesome subwoofer! While there are certainly other very good subwoofer systems on the market that go very deep in bass reproduction, I feel it is safe to say this REL S/812 is probably the very best at seamlessly integrating with the rest of your audio system. It's one of the more expensive ones available, but as in all cases of quality product, you get what you pay for. That said, I tend to believe this subwoofer is actually the better value. Value being defined as what you get for what you spend, rather than how little you pay for a given product. Performance is what I was seeking and that is exactly what I got. Money well spent! Truly, a state-of-the-art performer amongst its peers.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

Gary Klepper

Verified Reviewer

“Recently had to change from vintage tube amps and pre-amp to the hybrid BHKs from PS Audio. While thrilled with the detail and dynamics, I was missing a bit of the tube magic. Decided to help out my Avalon Eidolon speakers with a pair of REL S/812s. This brought back some of the more present feeling that I was missing. One note is that connecting these subs to the BHK300 monoblocks does require obtaining the grounding post from PS, and having REL make up a pair of the resister networks to solve the hum produced by the RELs when the amps go into standby mode. No regrets on this purchase.”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“WOW!!! The REL S/812 really blew me away and vastly exceeded my best expectations. Everyone knows that REL subs integrate beautifully into two channel systems well, but they are sometimes criticized for being a little bit light in home theater (.1) applications. Not so with the S/812!!! The S/812 integrated beautifully with my Sonus faber Cremona M tower speakers (using the Speakon hi-level connection to my Anthem home theater power amplifier) to play magnificent stereo sources. The sub is fast and the bass is full and clean - integrated perfectly with the speakers like no other subwoofer can do. The surprising bonus is that by adding an RCA connector for the .1 home theater signal from my Marantz AV processor also provides fantastic, full, rich and powerful home theater bass. Yes - it can shake the house with movies; but it sounds magnificent when listening to multi-channel audio. In my Marantz processor for home theater mode, I've set all speakers to "Small" with a subwoofer; but for two channel sources, I have the processor set for 2 "Large" front speakers and no subwoofer - this works perfectly as the REL is getting the identical full-range signal that the front speakers get. REL even enables you to set the "volume" of the hi-level and .1 stages independently. Amazingly thoughtful. This is simply the best subwoofer I've ever seen / heard; it looks beautiful and is surprising compact considering its power and effectiveness. I'd give it 10 stars if the option were there.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

David Gundersen

Verified Reviewer

“A great addition to my system. Blends perfectly with my Focal Sopra 2s. This is a fantastic subwoofer!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

David Fisher

Verified Reviewer

“Had been working with Upscale about a REL S5 for a new theater/music system we were putting together. All the reviews had us convinced that for the money that would be the way to go. At the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest (2019) we were introduced to the newly released S812... an array of 6 of them in a $300,000 system to be more specific. Fabulous. Upscale was there and procured a new S812 for us. Running with a calibrated Atmos theater system utilizing Revel speakers (Salon 2's, Voice 2, etc) the S812 compliments the system very well. Not overwhelming, and seamless, which is my personal preference. Still playing with the S812 in conjunction with 2 channel music enjoyment, but the Salon 2's are sooo good in that department all by themselves that the S812 may be utilized mostly for the theater mode. A beautiful and top shelf sub, both physically and musically. Can't say enough about Upscale either!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“Just listening to water of love by Dire Straights through these Rel S812’s. Have a 2.2 system set up with Monitor Audio 5G Gold 300’s. Using the speaker level inputs and its like magic. Makes for a very nice match - the MA Golds are beauties too!”

Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

REL Acoustics S/812 Subwoofer Gloss Black Reviews