REL Carbon Special
Subwoofer
Relative price
above typical
Among the 24 subwoofers in the catalogue, this one is above typical.
A band places a component against its peers and carries no price. It is deliberately the only price indicator on this page: a second one, measured against a different set, would narrow the two together far enough to give the figure away.
What it is
REL Reference-line trickle-down: BlackWidow 3rd-generation carbon driver + NextGen 5 amplifier (heart of No.25 flagship) + CS PerfectFilter — all elements developed solely for Carbon Special.
REL specifies as "limited availability" — distinct from full Reference line (No.25/No.31/No.32) but with reference-line components.
Stacks in line arrays of 2 or 3 subwoofers per side (REL standard for S/510 and above). For 102m³ room, single Carbon Special likely adequate; stereo pair would be reference-tier.
What the reviewers said
REL Carbon Special with carbon fibre cabinet REL Carbon Special Reference· Bass extension
a stronger sense of timing Hi-Fi+ (Kennedy) 2021 (orig CS)· Bass control
presence... is off the scale Hi-Fi+ (Kennedy) 2021 (orig CS)· Physical impact
extension well beyond the main speaker Hi-Fi+ (Kennedy) 2021 (orig CS)· Bass extension
How it scores
Bass
- Bass control 74 from listening evidence
- Physical impact 74 from listening evidence
- Bass extension 76 from listening evidence
Specifications
| powered | True |
|---|---|
| driver size mm | 305.0 |
| enclosure type | sealed + down-firing passive |
| amp power w | 1000.0 |
| line input | True |
| speaker input | True |
| balanced input | True |
| crossover capability | low_pass_only |
| crossover range hz | 30/120 |
| frequency response hz | 19/200 |
| dimensions mm | 430/455/539 |
| weight kg | 38.7 |
| notes | CS PerfectFilter described as REL "two-for-one" — improves both low-bass extension and upper-range transparency. |