REL is dead. Long live REL

So it will be like buying a RCA, Quasar, Sylvania or GE Television. Just a mass produced clone dressed up to look like the original on the outside.

What a shame Rel is no more.

I love the sound and build quality of my Rel Stentor III subwoffer.

It sounds like the new Rel is going for price and market share with cheaper products. This makes it all the more likely I will not depart with my Stentor III anytime in the future since really supurb products in the audio world are getting to be a rare breed.

Mr. Lord really cared about producing a quality woofer and his engineering expertise will be missed in the market place.

Johnny

I think you are underestimating the integrity of Sumiko.

Sumiko's integrity is not at issue. It is a simple case of marketing. They bought REL and are now starting to sell subwoofers that Richard Lord had nothing to do with. Those who were fans of Mr. Lord are not likely to buy a new model just because of the lettering on the case.

Why not call them Sumiko subwoofers? Because the REL name sells.

They basically bought a brand name as market tool. The same as my TV example. At one time a lot of older American's would not buy a Japanese or Korean TV. They wanted the same brand like Zenith, etc, they always bought. So the asian companies bought up the American names and put those names on their sets. It worked like a charm.

No sooner did Mark Levinson sell out to Harmon International and Mark Levinson branded car stereo suddenly appeared in Lexus automobiles. Probably just a Harmon Kardon car stereo with a fancy name to fit the Lexus high class image.

I agree with Sugarbrie. Sounds like Mr Lord needed to retire for a second time and Sumiko bought the rights to the name.

Made in China does not mean for one minute that they will be a low quality product. However, it does mean that the importer will likely be cashing in even more (Sumiko marked up the price of REL pretty steeply even before), and the consumer is unlikely to see any of the production savings. I'd rather pay my money to people building products, rather than import/export empires. Buying factory direct from China may be worthwhile, but lining the pockets of a US importer is not, in my opinion.

There's always MJ acoustics for anyone wanting a British Made sub (I think they used to manufacture REL).