Feelings when listening Rel ST Series subwoofers

You may also find that you prefer the non-ported Strata as opposed to the ported Storm. I felt the Strata was more accurate...it was close...but it seemed quicker and a bit more accurate head-to-head.

Troutki, your comment is quite interesting, since Storm is more expensive than Strata.

By the way, we should wait to listen to the new Strata 5 (www.rel.net)

When I purchased my Strata III, I was sitting in the store with the coin ready to buy it or the Storm. I listened head to head on the demo system, and found that the Strata better suited my tastes. The Storm goes a bit lower probably due to its porting, so it maybe a bit better for HT....i have never compared the two head-to-head for HT so I am just speculating.

I wouldn't go with the Storm III. If you are getting the sub for mainly HT, then I would do nothing less than the Stadium III. The Stadium III will give you that visceral bass that pressurizes most any room unless very, very large which then you may need more than one. The Stadium III does retail for $3,000. It is also an incredible sub for music. If that is out of your price range then I would recommend either the Paradigm Servo 15 or their step down PW2200. Very good HT subs at better price points, just not as refined as the Rel subs for music. The Strata III is a nice sub that will do well for music but really lack for HT unless your room is pretty small. It may simply come down to which activity is more important HT or 2-Ch music.

Hey Y'all,

I have 2 Strata IIIs and the effect is amazing. Check my virtual system here. I just listened to the flight of the valkyrie scene from "Apocalypse Now Redux" the other night. Specifically the end of the scene when the colonel wants to surf and he orders the napalm strike on the tree line off the beach front, it was window rattling. I was so in awe, I played it again just to make sure I heard it right. The Strata’s have all the effects that have been mentioned above when it comes to music but I think many people sell the Strata’s short when it comes to movies. As for the Strata subs not being good for big rooms, my room is a sunken living room that measures 22'x 13'x 9' and the back of the room is open through the foyer for another 12'. My Strata’s have no problem at all providing more then enough bass response in both music and HT applications. Also, with 2 subs, you eliminate standing waves, dead spots and spikes in frequencies. Just my .02.......John