REL Serie HT – HT/1003 MKII – 10" Powered Subwoofer

REL Serie HT: HT/1003 MKII – 10" Powered Subwoofer

Buy an HT/1003 MKII if you either don’t have the space or don’t require the extra output of REL’s larger models. It’s that simple. More compact, just as beautiful, it delivers identical build quality to its siblings, and its style makes it an ideal partner in HT/3D REL theatre setups with Serie T/x. An all-new 300W Class D amplifier offers greater headroom and powers a new CarbonGlas 10” (250mm) driver, a combination that delivers devastating output, playing twice as loud as the original. At this price, this performance is unheard of. The icing on the cake is that, like all the new HTs, it responds beautifully when playing music, and HT-Air delivers state-of-the-art optional wireless.

• 10” (250mm) long-throw CarbonGlas driver
• 300-watt (RMS) Class D amplifier
• –6 dB at 24 Hz Low Frequency Extension
• Closed-box, front-firing cabinet
• Wireless via HT-Air MKII (sold separately)
• 34.2 lbs. (15.5 kg) Weight
• Made in China
• 3 Year Warranty

Highlights & Key Technologies

For Constrained Spaces or Smaller Budgets
Perhaps the most dramatic update in the entire HT range is delivered by the remarkable HT/1003 MKII. In theatre, nothing impresses like raw output, even if you don’t use all of it; HT/1003 MKII’s increase in usable headroom confers an ease to the sound that lesser designs can’t compete with. Here, REL realizes a full 10 dB higher output (that’s twice as loud) over its forbear. As with its larger brothers, HT/1003 MKII receives the full suite of MKII upgrades: a higher secondary filter allows energy to extend further up the sonic spectrum so explosions are more savage than ever; an all-analogue PerfectFilter lifts and extends the deepest bass; and an analogue subsonic filter filters out the signals that can lead to damage below 20 Hz. All this is packaged in the same serious look that blends perfectly with Serie T/x and Serie S for use in HT/3D systems. Improvements to driver, amplifier, and filters mean this latest version is now a seriously musical sub.

Designer Exterior
The bespoke new cabinetry has new textures, proportions, and finishing touches previously unseen in the category. Lower, sleeker cabinetry borrows proportions drawn from REL’s new Reference models, which experimentation over the years has found results in a faster, deeper presentation of bass — all while looking smashing. The eye is immediately drawn to the top panel, which 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, and it can be combined with either Serie T/x or Serie S in large, fully-immersive REL HT/3D setups.

Drive Like You Mean It
HT/1003 MKII’s driver remains a 10” (250mm) CarbonGlas construct to keep its overall size reasonable in its role as the powerhouse for slightly more modest spaces. Every component was beefed up, improved in ways both large and small 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 greater energy, and upgraded suspension designs with enlarged surround to permit greater travel mean output remains under control all the way to the limits of amplifier and driver. The result is prodigious output for this price point while remaining fast and liquid, as do all RELs.

PerfectFilters: Where it All Starts
Amplifiers do the dirty work and the heavy lifting in a theatre subwoofer. REL turned to a true Tier One amp supplier to build its latest design, with thicker boards and upgraded power supplies — all the engineering that results in a brutally powerful 300W amp (all RELs are specified as RMS Continuous, just like a big, expensive 300W monoblock amp) with remarkable longevity. While its theatre applications get all the headlines, its big secret is that it sounds sublime in musical applications. REL input filters are renowned throughout the audio world, bringing together ultra-fast analogue crossovers, custom-designed elevation filters that extend the flatness of deep bass, and integrated limiters that allow all the power to explode outward. Refined in this second generation, the secondary filters now allow extension to a much higher frequency, allowing the rarefaction of air in the sound of an explosion to feel that much more realistic. The latest circuit also includes an all-analogue subsonic filter that begins as low as 12 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 to the driver’s limit without distortion.

Zero Compression Wireless
Being wired for sound used to require long runs of cable strewn across the floor. With REL’s optional HT-Air, great sound can be “un-wired” — replaced by a tiny transmitter and matching receiver that sends an incredibly fast 5.8 GHz wireless signal up to 60 feet without digital compression. This affordable circuit includes the same LSIC chip that powers REL’s state-of-the-art AirShip II, without the expensive discrete analogue-to-digital and digital-to-analog (DAC) converters. It is perfect for the .1/LFE signals using RCA connectors.

Connectivity & Daisy-Chaining
To simplify and increase the versatility of connecting, the HT/1003 MKII has two low-level RCA inputs, facilitating use with AV surround sound systems, two-channel stereo systems, and powered speakers. A single RCA jack labeled .1/LFE connects to the sub output of a processor, while the dual RCA jacks can be used for stereo low-level connection from a stereo source or powered speakers. The upper frequency amplification of these inputs can be limited using the crossover control. The RCA inputs have corresponding output connections so that multiple RELs can be run in parallel by connecting the OUT of one to the IN of the next — what REL refers to as “daisy chaining.”

Set-Safe Overload Protection
All REL Sub-Bass Systems are designed as true sub bass speakers, reproducing exceptionally deep notes that are felt as well as heard at whatever volume level is set. If set too high, no damage should result because the built-in electronics limit cone movement. This electronic control, called Set-Safe, constantly and instantaneously monitors the output from the power amplifier and is totally transparent in operation until required, detecting the point of incipient clipping and gently soft-clipping the waveform to ensure actual clipping does not occur. A thermal overload device is also fitted; if the unit is deliberately over-driven, it senses the temperature rise and cuts the output, with a recovery time of approximately five minutes.

Details & Specifications

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Type: Closed box, front-firing driver
Active Driver Size & Material: 10 in. (250mm) long-throw, CarbonGlas cone structure, inverted carbon fibre centre cap, steel chassis
Passive Radiator Size & Material: N/A
Low Frequency Extension: –6 dB at 24 Hz, in room
Input Connectors: (2) Low Level RCA or (1) LFE RCA
Output Connectors: Daisy Chain (2) Low Level RCA or (1) LFE RCA
Power Output: 300 watts (RMS)
Amplifier Type: Class D
Phase Switch: Yes, 0 or 180 degrees
Crossover: Variable between 30–200 Hz
Wireless Capability: HT-Air MKII (sold separately)
Dual Parametric Filter: No

PROTECTION SYSTEM
Fully Electronic with Set-Safe: Yes
D.C. Fault: Yes
Output Short: Yes
Mains Input Voltage: 220–240 volts; 110–120 volts for certain markets
Fuses: 6.3 Amp semi delay, 230V or 115V operation
Power Draw at Standby: > 0.5 watts
Power Draw at Idle: 10 watts

DIMENSIONS & WEIGHT
Dimensions (W x H x D), including feet and rear panel controls: 14.25 x 13.25 x 15.25 in. (362 x 343 x 387 mm)
Net Weight: 34.2 lbs. (15.5 kg)
Shipping Weight: 41 lbs. (18.6 kg)

FINISH
Horizontally Oriented Line Grained Composite, 15 mm Top Plate, finished in 5 coats of hand-rubbed high gloss lacquer

COUNTRY OF MANUFACTURE
Made in China

WARRANTY
3 Year Warranty (parts and labor)

SUPPLIED ACCESSORIES
Serie HT/1003 MKII Subwoofer
Grille
6’ AC Power Cord
User Manual & Warranty Information
Quick Start Guide
Safety Information