REL vs JL AUDIO

I'm wondering why they are not really the best, Is it due to one of these; better price, better advertising, better distribution, or simply a better product.

I'll go for a better product with less failures as possible and easy customer support. Some are super "Made in USA" only despite the stuff breaking down and having difficult customer support which is baffling. The sub could be made by a Martian in Nepal for all I care long as it works well.

REL is definitely mid fi. If you've had the pleasure to hear both side by side then you would agree. The REL sound is mushy and I'll defined compared to JL AUDIO.  REL doesn't have a driver that comes even close to the drivers JL AUDIO uses.  JL AUDIO spanks REL. REL=CHINESE JUNK

I’m lately going more and more to the USA made products especially for premium products. I have a JL F113 and it “was” awesome. It’s a V1 and there is a $450 charge to fix anything period and send it back no matter what the issue is. They will but in V2 parts which is awesome. It’s got a buzz. It’s 220v cause I bought in Shanghai probably 10 years ago so I feel the 450 to update and fix it is very reasonable. 
 

I’ve been putting it off for 2 years cause I’m lazy and busy. I would say if the cost is comparable I would go JL all day long. I’ve heard Rel a few times at dealers. They sounded really good just as the JL. I’m sure they are comparable but my money will go with the American company as long as the cost is comparable along with SQ. 

A properly set up distributed bass array -- using non-branded subs -- will take you much further.

Consider the AudioKinesis Swarm or James Romeyn's modified version of it.

Think outside the box.

I have not had an opportunity to own the REL sub however I have maintained Velodyne DD18's as well as the JL Audio Fathom F212 V2.  The JL is a much quicker response sub due to the smaller driver however the DD18 is no slouch.  Both excellent subs that I have incorporated in two seperate systems however I sway towards the JL.  Using the JL with a pair of JBL Array 1400's which blend perfectly.