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).
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).