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  • Writer's pictureRyan Redenbaugh

Beautiful Form Follows Functional Perfection

Updated: Jun 29, 2023

No.32 and No.31 represent the pinnacle in subwoofer design and engineering. The absolute maximum in power, finesse and beauty on offer. The Reference Series.

The Pinnacle


Our Reference subwoofers allow us the opportunity to pursue the perfect reproduction of sound, while letting nothing get in our way. Our designers and engineers can dream big and take huge leaps in innovation. The result is truly reference level subwoofers that can extend the soundstage of the most renowned speakers and systems, bringing incredible clarity to the mid-tones in perfect synchronicity.


PROJECT INVOLVEMENT

Industrial Design

Photo Realistic Renderings

Mechanical Engineering / Drawings / Solidworks

Rear Panel Artwork

Cost Reduction and Manufacturing Support


Ideation Process


Beautiful Form Follows Functional Perfection


It is often said that form follows function. If that is true, what a lovely function we are following. The cabinet traces a curvilinear path established over a decade ago on the original Gibraltar. Here, the top surface tumbles down at the rear corners – a difficult treatment to execute, but one that produces a uniquely beautiful effect.

Triple-plated steel handles are inset into ellipses that allow for a secure grip, which is necessary when lifting an object over 200 pounds. Inside, the rear backing plate is well over half an inch thick and contoured to follow the inner surface, yielding a massively strong structure.


No.32’s new badge treatment combines the materials that appear most frequently within its design; the carbon fibre used throughout the driver is inset within a polished, cast alloy basket that is finished in 3 layers of plating to achieve a jewel-like sparkle. The overall design speaks to the remarkable efforts that went into ensuring No.32 is as striking visually as it is technically.


Arrayed for Battle

No.31 permits the same vertically stacked line array as the ultimate No.32. It delivers transformative performance that no competitor has been able to. For those who have been seeking the ultimate musical and theatre experience, Line Arrays unlock the final dimension of system reproduction. Audiophiles have chased three-dimensional sound for years, yet they have missed the simple fact that the height—not the depth—of image is the missing link. By creating products that are designed to be stacked 3 (or in exceptionally tall rooms, 5) units high while retaining individual crossover and gain control of each subwoofer in the array, REL has created a masterpiece that finally delivers what the most experienced audiophiles have been chasing for the past 40 years.


Perfection Repeated


No.31 matches No.32’s design stroke for stroke, yet somehow it manages to look more svelte, crouching closer to the floor—almost feline in its grace. The elegant plated handles inset into an ellipse is retained, as is the string grille that permits vast amounts of air to explode into your room without creating noise like cloth grilles can. No.31 features the curvilinear radius to the sidewalls that define both its performance and its character. But the reduction in visual and actual three-dimensional physical mass is remarkable. No.31: when the best must be delivered in a smaller space.

Ryan

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