REL Classic 99 subwoofer

REVIEW
by Chris Franklin
Jun 04, 2025

Anyone who has ever considered adding a subwoofer to their system will be familiar with the name REL. So when they introduced the new Classic 99 earlier this year, we made sure we grabbed one for review.

The Classic 99 at £1,799 is a development of the Classic 98, which was intended for use with the growing number of small, high-quality retro speakers, such as the LS3/5a. The Classic 99 is specifically aimed at larger retro speakers such as the Wharfedale Linton and JBL L100 Classic, or speakers of that general size. It is around 30% larger than the 98, with a 12in downward-firing paper driver as opposed to the 98’s 10-incher. The 99 also has a 450 watt amp built in compared with the 98’s 300 watts and comes in any finish so long as it is walnut.

REL started out in Bridgend, Wales, in 1990, born from Richard Edmund Lord’s dissatisfaction with the subwoofers of the day. He invented REL’s unique ‘High Level’ connection system (more on that shortly). By 2005, he was looking for someone to take the company further, but who would be true to his ideas and vision. That person was John Hunter, who owned high-end US distributor Sumiko, along with Donal Brody. And so all REL design is now carried out at its US headquarters, with manufacturing in China.

High Level

Although connecting up a REL subwoofer is easy, it is different from other subwoofers. Rather than taking the output from your preamp or amplifier subwoofer output sockets (which the Classic 99 can also do), it derives its signal from the positive speaker output terminals of the amp (or one or both of the speakers, if that is easier) and the cable provided plugs into the Neutrik socket on the rear of the subwoofer. This means the sub gets the same signal as your main speakers, which, says UK sales director Rob Hunt, helps integration. REL say you will get the best results using the High Level connection.

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No digital signal processing, often used to achieve a flat response, is used in any REL subwoofer. This is because one of REL’s main design criteria is impulse response and they believe that DSP is too slow. As owner John Hunter told me: “I say to people ‘do you know how slow DSP is?’ Our subwoofers are blindingly fast. If we’re not faster than the [main] speakers, then we’re holding the parade up.”

Rob Hunt ran me through the setup process. He first adjusted the phase of the sub (in my system, best at 180º), then gain, which worked best in my room (19ft x 13ft) and system (Audio Note Meishu Tonmeister amp and Russell K Red 120Se speakers) five clicks up from zero, and finally crossover frequency. REL do not disclose what frequency that is, but for me two clicks up from zero did the trick. But don’t worry, your retailer will do all this for you and if not, there are helpful videos on the REL website. Every set up and configuration is different so don’t expect yours to be the same as these settings.

Epiphany

I have to admit that throughout my reviewing career I took little interest in subwoofers as I thought “I don’t need more bass”. But when I attended a recent public demo by Rob at my local retailer, I was astonished at how the sub improved the system musically throughout the whole frequency band, and even made it easier to follow delicate cymbal and hi-hat riffs. A subwoofer improving cymbals?! This is why I was so keen to try the Classic 99 in my system.

I asked REL owner John Hunter how their subs improve more than just the bass. He said that if you let things roll off from around 40Hz, many fundamentals in the music and all the harmonics that derive from them are lost. All notes, he says, have a low frequency component.

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Proof of the pudding

From the first few notes of every track I played, the inclusion of the subwoofer brought a noticeable improvement. On Bruce Springsteen’s ‘Racing in the Streets’ from Darkness on the Edge of Town, the piano was more real, with more space around it, and his voice was cleaner and more emotive. Drum rimshots were crisper and sharper, while the bass line when it kicked in was not only deeper, but tighter and easier to follow.

Next I deliberately chose Stephen Fearing’s Fear of Climbing (from Rega), which is just voice and acoustic guitar with no bass guitar or bass synth. On ‘Red Lights in the Rain’, his voice was far more open and you could hear how his voice wavered in places and how he pushed certain notes, while his guitar was more open and I could hear better how notes were shaped, his fingers moving along the strings and when he slapped the guitar body. The guitar also had far more body and weight.

Similarly, on Linda Ronstadt’s ‘Lo Siento Mi Vida’, the two guitars on the intro had more presence and space around them with more note shape detail, while her vocals were more open and natural, revealing the nuances of her delivery and conveying the power when she really pushed a note, with less harshness.

On a favourite track from sax legend Dave Koz, I could not only hear more of how he was shaping each note, but also more fine percussion detail. The bass line of course had more weight and was tighter and really moved along better. That degree of insight into what musicians are playing also shone through on guitarist Peter White’s ‘I Can See Clearly Now’ (from Groovin’), when fast runs of notes became clearer and better defined.

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It’s not just about the bass

If you need to improve your system’s bass quality or quantity, then of course the REL Classic 99 can do that with ease. But I suspect most people do not realise that it will also improve the sound as a whole, giving more insights and presence to percussion, drumkit, sax, guitar and vocals on tracks you thought you knew well.

It’s not all about the bass. As John Hunter told me: “We are talking about wholesale improvements of the entire system. Just making deeper bass would be a thousand times easier than what we do.”

The Classic 99 does all of this for a remarkable £1,799. You could spend twice that much on cables! If you have not yet discovered what a sub can do for your system, try the Classic 99. I am sure it will not disappoint and I recommend it most enthusiastically.