REL Habitat1 Wireless Subwoofer Preview

REL Acoustics, the venerable UK subwoofer manufacturer, has launched the Habitat1, a subwoofer that looks to break into new ground by offering rock-solid wireless connectivity with a décor-friendly design that can be hung on-wall or tucked behind a sofa.   

Unlike most subwoofers, which are just… well, squares, the Habitat1 is a sleek rectangle.  In fact, it’s a pretty thin rectangle at only 4.5 inches deep.    The Habitat1’s unique design allows you to hang the unit right on the wall.  REL claims that the mounting hardware will allow you to hang the Habitat1 on a variety of wall structures, including masonry or brick walls, modern sheet rock and stud construction. If you don’t want to hang the sub on a wall then you can place it anywhere in your room—even behind a sofa—with an optional stand.

Front view of the Habitat1

While some subs on the market have begun featuring built-in room correction, the Habitat1 does not include any kind of room correction software or solution. Prospective users will need to fool with proper placement or, if they have it, rely upon room correction software in their receiver. 

The sleek-looking sub is a sealed design. It features two front-firing 6.5 inch active woofers and one 10 inch rear-firing passive radiator.  The rear panel of the sub features High Level, .1/LFE, and Low Level inputs.  

Dual 6.5 Inch Front Firing Active Woofers

For those familiar with REL’s philosophy on subs, REL says that you can run the High Level and .1/LFE inputs concurrently to permit what they call the “REL Reference Theater operation” that REL claims re-establishes consistent, full range bass in addition to special effects bass. 

Rear 10” Passive Radiator

The top of the unit contains all the manual dials and switches you’d expect in a traditional sub.  There’s a variable Hi/Low Level dial and an independent .1/LFE Level dial.  REL claims that you can crossover the sub anywhere between 25Hz and 120Hz.  However, that 25Hz number seems odd since the sub is only rated down to 30Hz at -6dB and the crossover knob lists 30Hz as its lowest setting.  For phase adjustment, you can select either 0 or 180 with the flip of a toggle switch. 

Controls on the top of the Habitat1 Subwoofer

Specs and looks aside, the real selling point of the sub it its wireless operation. The Habitat1 works in conjunction with a wireless transmitter that REL has termed “Longbow”.  The Longbow transmitter mirrors the connectivity options on the sub itself with High Level, .1/LFE, and Low Level inputs.  Longbow will also transmit both the High Level and .1/LFE signals concurrently. 

REL’s Longbow Wireless Transmitter

REL is bragging about the chip used in the Longbow, which transmits the signal with zero compression.  Many wireless solutions compress a signal first to make it smaller to transmit and then have to decompress it on the other end.  This compression/decompression of the signal along with any latency in the wireless signal has the potential to cause timing delays.  With the chip they are using, REL claims they have solved the potential fidelity and timing issues. Eliminating compression, they claim, maintains the fidelity of the source signal and minimizes latency, which both of which have plagued wireless speaker designs in the past.

In case you’re wondering, the effective distance for the Longbow is a maximum of 50 feet with a clear line of sight and 30 feet if you’re transmitting through a standard sheet-rock wall.

REL claims that setup of the Habitat1 and Longbow is a snap with automatic pairing.  All you need to do is plug in both the Habitat1 and Longbow within 30 seconds of each other and the two auto-pair with each other.  That’s pretty simple—even for the most non-technical audiophile or spouse.

Target Audience

So who is the Habitat1/Longbow combination targeting?  Well, from both its pedigree and $1,999 price, it’s clear that the Habitat1 is aiming at the higher-end architectural market where you will likely have high-quality architectural speakers or monitors.  You won’t find this sub in hard-core man caves. 

Having the Habitat1/Longbow combination will provide homeowner and designers with much greater flexibility in placing the sub anywhere in the room.  The sub will also fit nicely into areas where putting an in-wall sub is both structurally problematic and impractical. 

Conclusion

The Habitat1 with Longbow wireless transmitter doesn’t pretend to be the definitive word in deep bass, but for many, it may give them exactly the deep bass notes they are yearning for while maintaining the aesthetics needed for spousal harmony.

Unless otherwise indicated, this is a preview article for the featured product. A formal review may or may not follow in the future.