REL S850 12" Powered Subwoofer

REL S850 12" Powered Subwoofer Key Features: 

• Advanced carbon-fiber drivers with lightweight center caps – Deliver explosive dynamics, precise transients, and delicate nuance for music and home theater.
• 850-watt hybrid amplifier – Combines Class A/B monoblock impact with Class D efficiency for sustained, authoritative bass with clarity and refinement.
• Fully analog input filters with High Level integration – Preserve natural sound, seamless speaker integration, and tonal cohesion.
• Premium cabinet design – Expanded dimensions, reinforced internal bracing, recessed stainless-steel handles, and optional wood grille enhance aesthetics, stability, and airflow.
• Optional Airship Direct™ wireless system – Transmits High Level and .1/LFE signals wirelessly while maintaining speed, clarity, and authority.

Product Description: 

Stunning Design Meets Raw Power

The S/850 sets the standard for the Serie S line, with design innovations that inform and elevate its three stablemates. Every advancement is comprehensive, ensuring the entire Serie S family benefits from the breakthroughs pioneered in the S/850.

The results are extraordinary: it delivers astonishing attack and output that surpass even the former Carbon Special, all while maintaining the precision, quietness, and clarity needed for true dynamic range. Lightning-fast transients, deep and effortless bass, and rich tonal nuance combine to elevate both music and theater experiences.

Designed to be Perfect

The S/850 cabinet is longer, lower, wider, and deeper, creating a naturally commanding presence. Refined design details enhance both aesthetics and function: clean creases that catch the light, warm silver-gold badges with a titanium-like finish, and stainless-steel handles recessed into elegant ellipses. Precision-milled billet cylinders beneath each front rail allow exact leveling, while thick internal aluminum slabs reinforce the handles for safe stacking in Line Arrays. Designed to complement contemporary interiors, the S/850 also offers an optional Premium Wood Grille for added warmth and individuality.

Driven to Perfection

The S/850 represents the culmination of relentless refinement. Progress stems not only from advanced materials but also from thousands of hours of critical listening by the REL team, transforming precise engineering into musical and cinematic performance of the highest order. Every detail is carefully considered, resulting in power, nuance, and scale that redefine what’s achievable in its class.

The S/850’s drivers now feature lightweight pure carbon-fiber center caps, replacing the solid aluminum used in earlier models. These caps reduce moving mass while stiffening the cone, producing explosive dynamics and the ability to render the quietest passages with delicate nuance. Feather-light yet rigid, they extend performance at both extremes—a signature trait of REL design.

Monoblock Slam, Class D Efficiency

The S/850’s amplifier combines the raw impact of massive Class A/B monoblocks with the efficiency of a modern Class D output stage. Powered by a robust traditional supply, it delivers 850 watts of continuous output and can peak at 1,000 watts during demanding passages, providing ample headroom for both music and theater. Upgraded input filters, featuring the same thin-film capacitors found in REL’s flagship models, introduce unprecedented transparency and refinement for this class. Together, these innovations enhance clarity, soundstage, and authority—an amplifier that unites brute force with finesse to anchor the performance of the entire Serie S lineup.

Analog Filtered to Perfection

REL prioritizes analog design because it is the only way to achieve truly natural sound. All input filters are 100% analog, among the fastest ever offered in a subwoofer. At the center is the acclaimed High Level Input, which connects directly to the speaker outputs of the main amplifier. Rather than drawing power, it transmits the full sonic signature of the system, allowing REL to integrate seamlessly with speakers—a quality praised by reviewers for decades.

When High Level isn’t feasible, the low-level input uses the same analog filter circuit, available via RCA and XLR connections, to deliver the speed, naturalness, and cohesion REL is known for. In theater or dual-use setups, High Level and .1/LFE inputs can operate simultaneously, allowing music to maintain natural integration while movie soundtracks deliver their full intended impact.

Serie S Line Array

REL Line Arrays are celebrated for their expansive soundstage and dynamic performance, setting the benchmark in high-end audio. Designed to grow with the listener, they can start as a stereo pair, expand to four units, and ultimately form a six-unit stack for full floor-to-ceiling authority. Precision mechanical couplers securely connect each upper module to the base, ensuring stability and seamless performance.

The S/550 provides an entry point into this world, offering a scalable path to Line Array performance. Stepping up, the S/850 delivers greater scale, weight, and authority, proven at international shows to enhance even the most finely matched systems. The results are transformative: vocals gain striking presence, instruments unfold with natural dimension, and cinematic effects hit with vivid realism—a state-of-the-art experience that is both scalable and accessible.

Wired For Sound…Wirelessly

Sometimes the best connection is no connection at all. While premium cables are standard in high-end systems, there are times when running a wire is impractical, unsafe, or visually intrusive. REL solves this with Airship Direct™, an optional wireless system that transmits wide-bandwidth signals carrying both High Level and .1/LFE simultaneously. Even at the scale and output of the S/850, Airship Direct™ preserves the speed, clarity, and authority that define REL. It enables seamless transitions between music and movies without touching a control, all via a single module that plugs neatly into the rear panel and remains virtually invisible. Simple, direct, and uncompromised—Airship Direct™.

Specifications: 

Dimensions and Weight: 

Overall - W x H x D

19.25 x 16.125 x 21.25 in.

(488 x 410 x 540 mm)

Product Weight - 93.5 lbs. (42.5 kg)

What's in the box

• Serie S/850 Subwoofer
• 6' AC Power Cord
• 32' Neutrik Speakon cable
• Line Array Mounting Hardware
• Cloth Grille
• User Manual and Warranty Information

*The Premium Wood Grille is NOT included in your subwoofer purchase but is available for purchase.