The challenge of Planar was producing deep bass from a cabinet just 4.5″ thick while insisting on being able to deliver truly deep bass and high output levels. John told us this is around his 45th model and he’s never faced more challenges in the development process. What we found particularly interesting is how the wall mounting actually enhances bass performance rather than compromising it, with the rear-facing driver sitting exactly 1.6″ from the wall to create a preload the team can design around.

The Planar Cart is one of our favorite parts of the launch. John drew inspiration from Alvar Aalto’s Tea Trolley 901 from 1936, and the cart carries that same playfulness married to utility. We love the care given to something that’s technically just an accessory, which feels thoughtful and fun in a way you don’t usually see.

What we appreciate most about REL is that they’ve always thought backward, from the owner’s perspective. The brand has been quietly making subwoofers that don’t look like subwoofers for the past 21 years, and Planar feels like the clearest expression of that yet.

Read the full interview with John Hunter below:

REL has been known for high-performance subwoofers for 35 years. What prompted the decision to create Planar, and how does it fit into where you see the brand heading?

Planar occupies a unique space within the subwoofer genre, nothing we or others have delivered previously delivers the unique combination of being a true high performance subwoofer and delivering the factor and exquisite craftsmanship. First time viewers will want to assign it a slot as a lifestyle product. Until they hear it, and that’s when it all becomes very interesting.

Planar is described as bringing “flexibility and performance into perfect balance” for modern spaces. Walk us through the design process of creating something that could work mounted, mobile, or integrated, without compromising performance. What were the biggest challenges?

(Laughs) Everything, just everything. The obvious challenge of producing deep bass from a cabinet just 4.5” thick, but then insisting on being able to deliver truly deep bass AND high output levels. And once we’d done that, making sure the accessories, the optional wood grilles and the Planar cart that is both a mobile device and a precision setup tool. This is around my 45th model and I’ve never faced more challenges in the development process.

You’ve positioned Planar as solving a specific problem for in-wall and in-ceiling speaker systems, adding the depth and energy that’s often missing. How did you approach designing for that use case specifically, and how does wall-mounting actually enhance bass performance rather than compromise it?

Let me start with the excellent question at the end first. Bass performance is always better when the designer can define the use case. When I can understand that the unit will be wall mounted, and the rear-facing driver closest to the wall will be exactly 1.6” from the wall, I then know what to expect. It’s not easy, but having that preload means I know how much pressure we can develop, how much stroke the driver is permitted. I hope that answers your question.

The Planar Cart feels like an intentional design object, not just a utilitarian stand. How did you think about the relationship between the subwoofer and the cart, and why was it important for it to feel like an extension of the product itself rather than an afterthought?

I truly detest make-do’s. Having sweated over every aspect of the design and execution–and I wish to be clear, everyone on the entire product development team was bought in on this–by this point, we knew how special this design was and there was no way we were going to let off the gas just before the finish line. Having seen and fallen in love with the playfulness married to utility of Alvar Aalto’s Tea Trolley 901 design from far back in 1936 I was hoping I would find a way to execute something that exquisitely wrought once in my career.

REL has always been about how sound lives within a room. With Planar, you’re offering grille options, color finishes, and different placement strategies that put more control in the user’s hands. How does that philosophy of adaptability influence the way you think about product design now compared to when REL started?

Another great question. We’ve always thought backward, meaning from the new owner’s perspective. It was always the most natural thing in the world for us to ask “If I needed this object, a subwoofer, how would I want it to be? Big, loud, poorly finished? Kind of a one-note boom creation?” I played music, mostly on stage but a bit in studios back in the 70’s and 80’s. I bring that sound, the excitement of being in the middle of 3-4 great musicians and the energy that occurs on stage to our designs-–REL’s don’t just make great bass, they uplift the rest of the musical soundstage.

Next I think about how would I want it to be, as an object in our rooms? Not just the look and style of it, objects that are crafted with precision and care have a way of becoming important parts of people’s lives, of becoming something clients grow to love and cherish. We become kind of part of the family. So we really sweat the details. We started building these lovely gloss white lacquered subwoofers way back in 2007. And they caught on, not because we were this awesome marketing machine, but because we connected with a desire for a small group of people who wanted something that DIDN’T look like a subwoofer.

Planar is simply the ultimate extension of that movement that has been a part of REL for the past 21 years.


Photos by Steck Studios