Here we go, Awards Season, and the first Best of 2024 award is to the Best Loudspeaker of the Year. We’ve listened to many loudspeakers this year, notably the excellent AudioVector QR3 SEs, the Focal Aria Evo X No.2s and the Triangle Borea BR10s.  Not to mention the very beautiful Sonus faber Sonetto III G2 floorstanders in October. These were worthy loudspeakers, but we are awarding the Loudspeaker of the Year to the REL Classic 99. Yes, it is a subwoofer, but it is still a loudspeaker, and this product profoundly influenced this reviewer in cinema and audio performance.  In the review, and in the context of spending money on all sorts of accessories and upgrades, we commented:

…a subwoofer can offer the best pound-for-pound upgrade you can make to a decent HiFi system.

We noted in pairing the Classic 99 with the Naim Audio New Classic NAP 250 with the Borea loudspeakers in a cinema arrangement that the:

…bass loading appears and feels bigger, faster, and deeper

And we concluded:

This (the 99 Classic) is the single most musical REL out there.

Congratulations to REL for the 99 Classic and this Best of 2024 award.

REL’s 99 Classic Badge

REL 99 Classic Playlist

Here’s the REL Playlist we used in the review on Tidal.