About The REL HT/1205 MKII Subwoofer
The HT/1205 MKII (a.k.a The Cannon) establishes a new performance standard for affordable home theatre subwoofers. Avoiding electronic gimmickry in favour of properly balanced priorities; cabinets that are right-sized, solidly braced and beautifully finished. A sparkling new amp design that effortlessly delivers 500W into an all-new CarbonGlas™ 12" (305mm) driver. The sexy new black lacquer top plate has a subtle REL logo floating on top, while the expensively wrought black line-grained composite for the cabinet looks the business.
HT/1205 MKII plays 50% louder than its predecessor, while also delivering more precision and subtlety. It is capable of output levels more commonly found in far more expensive models.
Performance Home Theatre: Serie HT is designed specifically to answer the challenge of creating affordably priced, exceptionally dynamic, pure home theatre powered subwoofers. The HT/1205 MKII is the ideal combination of a lightweight, modern 12" CarbonGlas™ driver coupled to a powerful 500W Class D amplifier that runs cool, producing extraordinary dynamics. Internally, REL developed specially adapted home theatre input filters that produce extremely flat bass down in the 20's.
REL set out to build the loudest, relatively compact 12" unit available for pure home theatre use, and at truly attractive pricing. Here at Audio Trends, we believe the HT/1205 MKII is destined to become a modern classic with svelte cabinet dimensions finished in an attractive, yet purposeful line grained black aluminium-look and topped by a 12mm thick beautifully polished top that serves to damp vibrations on the critical top surface of the cabinet.
Designer Exterior: The beautiful new cabinetry is bespoke; it has new textures, proportions, and finishing touches previously unseen in the category. Lower, sleeker cabinetry borrows proportions drawn from REL's new Reference models. Over the years, experiments have established that this results in a faster, deeper presentation of bass - all while looking smashing. Your eye is immediately drawn to the top panel, whose entire surface is finished in 5 coats of hand-polished piano black lacquer. A discreet REL logo floats within the top layer of lacquer whilst the body of the cabinet is clad in horizontally streaked, line-grained composite. The entire affair looks expensive, bespoke, and tastefully restrained. Additionally, you can stylishly combine it with either Serie T/x or Serie S in large, fully-immersive REL HT/3D™ setup.
Drive It Like You Mean It: The HT/1205 MK II's driver is a 12" (305mm) CarbonGlas™ construct as it has always been, but all its components were beefed up. It is improved in both large and small ways, enabling it to deliver the greatest performance possible. Lightweight, stiff, and quiet, the combination of glass fibre primary cones with true carbon fibre centre caps results in a cost-effective yet pistonic cone. Larger, more powerful magnets produce more energy. Upgraded suspension designs control the HT/1205 MKII's output all the way out to the limits of both the amplifier and the driver. The result is crazy output, while the HT/1205 MKII remains fast and liquid.
Now Hear This: Amplifiers do the heavy lifting in a theatre subwoofer. REL turned to a true tier one amp supplier to build their latest design and they did not disappoint. They included thicker boards, upgraded the power supplies, and did all the stuff that results in a brutally powerful amp with remarkable longevity. Additionally, the MOSFET power modules rated at 800 Watts mean this amp is just cruising at its 500 Watt rating. It produces truly awe-inspiring sound. While the theatre gets all the headlines, the HT/1205 MKII's big secret is that it sounds sublime in musical applications. Big and robust-sounding, it is sure to become an instant classic.
PerfectFilters™: REL input filters are renowned throughout the audio world. They bring together ultra-fast crossovers, elevation filters that extend the flatness of deep bass, and explosive-sounding integrated limiters. This compact series of analogue circuits is REL's secret recipe in both music and film sound. Refined in this second generation, the secondary filters are much higher in frequency; they make the rarefaction of air in the sound of an explosion to feel that much more realistic. Also, the latest circuit includes an all-analogue subsonic filter that begins as low as 8 Hz to minimize the effects of infra-noise from soundtracks that extends well below the resonance point of the driver. The result is incredible delivered power with the ability to play all the way to the driver's limit without distortion.
HT-Air MKII - Wired For Sound: Wired for sound used to entail long runs of cable strewn across the floor. With REL's optional HT-Air™, great sound has become "un-wired." Wire has been replaced by a tiny transmitter and matching receiver that sends an incredibly fast 5.8Ghz wireless signal up to 18 metres with no digital compression. This affordable circuit includes the same LSIC chip that powers REL's state-of-the-art AirShip II, minus the expensive analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analogue (DAC) convertors. The HT-Air is perfect for the .1/LFE signals using RCA connectors that are HT/1205 MKII's primary mission.
Our Take
When REL released its HT series of home theatre subwoofers, many long time fans wondered what was going on? Where were the high level inputs, how could REL go to the dark side and abandon their musical roots? Turns out, none of us should have been in the least concerned. REL saw a niche which they had the perfect product to fill and they have proven to be extremely popular without taking anything away from REL's more music orientated offerings. In fact, REL have cleverly designed all their subwoofers to work together in a home theatre system with what they call the REL HT/3D™ setup where HT series is used for all the bomb blasts etc and T/x or S series are used to extend the natural range of your front, centre and rear speakers. A nice marriage of abilities that is truly effective and can be built up over time, starting with an HT or two and adding multiple T/x or S series as you go. The sky is literally the limit with this type of subwoofer system building and we are more than happy to run you through the possibilities. Just contact one of our qualified team for details. In the meantime, if you just want to snag yourself a kickass home theatre subwoofer at a great price then the REL HT/1205 MKII awaits.
Main Features & Specifications
- Product Description: REL HT/1205 MKII Powered Subwoofer
- Design: Closed box, front-firing driver
- Active Driver Size & Material: 12", 305mm long-throw, CarbonGlas™ cone structure, inverted carbon fibre dust cap, steel chassis
- Low Frequency Extension: -6dB at 22 Hz
- Input Connectors: Dual Purpose Low Level Stereo RCA or LFE RCA
- Output Connectors: Daisy Chain Low Level Stereo RCA or LFE RCA
- Power Output: 500 Watts (RMS)
- Amplifier Type: NextGen5 Class D
- Wireless Capability: Optional REL HT-Air MKII Wireless System available, Zero Compression Single Large Scale Integrated Chip
- Protection System
- Fully Electronic Set Safe: Yes
- D.C. Fault: Yes
- Output Short: Yes
- Mains Input Voltage: 220-240 Volts 50Hz
- Fuses: 4 Amp semi delay
- Included Accessories: Mains Power Cable, User Manual
- Removable Power Cable: Upgrade to a Premium Power Cable for better performance
- Available Finishes: Black or White, Horizontally Oriented Line Grained Composite, 15 mm Top Plate, Finished in 5 Coats of Hand-Rubbed High Gloss Lacquer
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 413 x 387 x 438mm
- Net Weight: 19.6 kg
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 2 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE