Rel HT1508 Predator
Beschrijving / Description
This dedicated LFE beast packs a bespoke 15in driver and 850W amp into a (relatively) compact, sealed cabinet. The plain black finish, lack of frills and phono-only inputs, allowing the HT/1508 to stealth into the mid-market jungle and hope to invisibly pick off similar-price but lower-spec subs.
An introduction to RELs new model comes from company head John Hunter, who explains the Serie HT ethos: 'Whereas traditional RELs are asked to be fantastic all-rounders, the HT (Home Theatre) range is designed to focus on one task, LFE, and do it perfectly. We designed an all-new 15in driver with 3in of stroke fore-and-aft but, as with all REL driver designs, our focus remains on speed and articulation, not just boom.'
That 15in CarbonGlas driver is pretty special. Around 60 per cent of the surface is carbon fibre backed by a lightweight glass fibre mix. The result is a stiff and light cone, terminated with a butyl rubber roll surround, that should deliver super-fast transients with no overhang if given enough power which is where the 850W NextGen5 Class D amp comes in, an upgrade on the 500W version found in REL's 12in HT/1205 model.
Next to the usual bespoke furniture REL cabinets, the HT series is... homely. I wouldn't go as far as wheeling out Arnie's comment on the comeliness of the Predator (Google it, with safe search off) but let's agree the HT/1508 looks purposeful rather than pretty. The textured matte black cabinet is a slightly flattened cube with profiled side edges and fronted with a hefty MDF-framed grille. It's not particularly large for a 15in woofer and camouflages well in the shadows of a darkened cinema room.
The cabinet is not as plain as you might think though. It's extensively braced internally, feeling very inert to a tap on the side, and the glossy top is a 12mm-thick plate of glass that aids with damping the cabinet, says REL. The feet double as stacking rails if you want even more LFE impact, you can sit HT/1508s on top of each other.
The amp panel board takes up much of the sub's rear, although the connection and control count is frugal. You get stereo phono inputs and one balanced XLR input (not a feature of the smaller Serie HT models), plus balanced and unbalanced outputs for daisy-chaining. Controls are as basic as they get; auto power on, phase switch, gain and crossover knobs.
There are no speaker-level inputs, no 12V or IR triggers, no networking connections, no user EQ system and no remote control. While there are plenty of subs around £1,500 that will give you some of those features, none do it with a 15in custom driver and 850W digital amp tuned for purely home cinema use. And this unfrivolous spec does at least make setup fairly simplistic, compared to subs with baffling EQ where if you lose it you are in a world of hurt. There was some moving the unit around, flipping of phase switch and setting the gain level by ear before letting my AV receiver sort out the crossover.
Specificaties / Specifications
Drive units: 1 x 15in front-firing CarbonGlas woofer
Enclosure: Sealed
Frequency response (claimed): 22Hz (-6dB)
Onboard power (claimed): 850W NextGen5 Class D amplifier
Remote control: No.
Dimensions: 500(w) x 450(h) x 480(d)mm Weight: 36kg
Features: Balanced XLR input; balanced XLR output; stereo phono input; stereo phono output; LFE input; variable crossover; level; 0/180-degrees phase switch; auto standby feature; claimed 3in driver excursion