REL S3 SHO Subwoofer – Piano Black

When it comes to bass and subwoofers there is one specialist name that tends to standout above the rest. British company REL only build subs – nothing else! Here we have an example of the highly regarded S/3 SHO in good working condition, with just a little marking to the gloss finish and a small blemish in the grille – please see photographs. No Hi Level cable is included. It is supplied professionally packaged along with manual and our usual 3 month warranty.
REL Say….
S/3 SHO (Super High Output) derives from the flagship S/5 SHO offering a more compact footprint while retaining much of S/5 SHO’s performance, making it an ideal pairing for slightly more modest systems and rooms. In quality it is the equal of S/5 SHO using the same Continuous CastAlloy™ Cone Driver and carbon passive radiator, only in a slightly reduced size, paired with a 400W NexGen2 digital amplifier. Beautifully balanced, S/3 SHO offers powerful, incisive performance for both 2-channel and theatre systems.
SHO refers to Super High Output, made possible by a new 3-stage limiter our engineers created after extensive testing revealed that much higher output, higher gain and higher performance could be unlocked. The result is a new design that is capable of more than doubling its predecessor’s output. Specify the S/3 SHO, singly or in pairs, when your system is of exceptionally high quality, and your speakers and room can support high levels of dynamics and bass extension.
S/3 SHO’s driver features an all-new alloy cone structure that takes our mid-level product to a performance that exceeds our reference products of only a few years ago. By reducing moving mass, with a balanced approach to design, our engineering team was able to produce far more speed than prior designs. By carefully adjusting key parameters, we were able to increase the self-quieting key to a high-end component’s ability to resolve space and inner detail. Improvements in our designs translate into enhancement in your entire system.
S/3 SHO uses a special carbon/carbon passive that is stiff, lightweight and incredibly well-behaved. Our approach to passive design results in performance more akin to a variable ratio driver size. On an S/3 SHO, think of it as a sliding ratio design wherein the S/3 SHO begins as an ultra-fast 10” sealed box design and, as more power and deeper bass is demanded S/3 SHO gradually morphs into the power and output of a 15” design.
Beyond our proprietary drivers, the performance of a REL is determined by our unique input filters and amplifiers. REL S/3 SHO uses a simple filter-type that is very fast—about 8 milliseconds in group delay– to cross out unwanted higher frequencies to our driver. This speed and our carefully sorted filters allow for seamless blending of RELs with the main speakers. REL does not include a high pass filter to cross out bass from the main speaker because to do so would generally produce more unwanted effects than the minor benefits such a design confers.
S/3 SHO’s power amplifier is a powerful NextGen2 400W digital amplifier. This design has powered thousands of RELs and has proven exceptionally reliable and very fast with deep, extended lows—it provides a perfect mate to our new driver.
Specifications:
Type: Front-firing active driver, down-firing passive
Active Driver Size & Material: 10 in., 250mm long-throw, Continuous CastAlloy™ cone structure, cast chassis
Passive Radiator Size & Material: 12 in., 300mm Carbon/Carbon flat cone structure, steel chassis
Low Frequency Extension: -6dB at 21 Hz
Input Connectors: High Level Neutrik Speakon, Low Level stereo RCA, LFE RCA, SMA for wireless antenna
Power Output: 400 watts (RMS)
Amplifier Type: NextGen2 Class D
Mains Input Voltage: 220-240 volts, 110-120 volts for certain markets
Dimensions: 406 (W) x 424 (H) x 463.5 (D) mm
Weight: 27.85 kg

For a review from Hi-Fi+ magazine please click here