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VA Beethovens with REL Storm or VA Strauss

I curently own Beethovens as part of total Vienna Acoustic H/T set-up( Maestro center, Hadyns rear). I would like opinions on whether to add the REL Storm III or move up to the Strauss. I listen to music 70% of the time and my room is 16'wide 17'long with 9'ceiling, that has an wide opening in the rear to an adjacent room of approximately the same dimensions. I am very pleased with the sound of my current set-up and the bass is fine, but I have the bug to do something and I am curious to learn what others would do.
erniec
sc53
719 posts
 
I had the Beethovens with a REL Storm III in my fairly large living room (2-channel only) and enjoyed some of the best sound I've heard in my years of audio mania. I had Ayre amplification, which was a great match with the Beethovens. I have never heard the Strauss so can't comment on which route would be better. But if you buy the REL and stick with the Beethovens I'm sure you will not be disappointed.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
I've been down that road, and I decided to buy the Strauss. I can't say it would have been the right decision for everyone, but I'm happy. I owned a pair of Beethovens for about a year and a half. I was satisfied with their performance as well, but had the upgrade bug. To be fair, I never tried a REL sub with the Beethovens, as I've rarely heard a speaker/sub combo that blends as well on music as a single speaker. I prefer to leave crossover design to the experts. I've heard many systems over the years that have a mid-bass suckout, or bloated bass added by a sub. I have also heard a couple of well set-up sat/sub combo's, but they are definitely in the minority, at least for music. I have a Mirage sub I use for HT only.
Anyway, about a year ago I bought a pair of Strauss. While I wouldn't say they blew the Beethovens away, they did make a nice improvement, but not really in the bass region. The midrange is where I noticed the biggest gain. It was a little richer, and fuller, than the Beethoven's. The high's were about the same, sweet and airy. The bass was deeper, but I don't think it is quite as tight as the Beethoven's, as I recall. Not flabby, but bigger. I can't really say better bass though. It's kind of a coin toss, I like the extra slam and thunder, but do wish it was as tight and punchy as the Beethovens. I guess that's the difference between (2) 7" drivers and (1) 10" driver.
The Strauss however uses the same ScanSpeak midrange drivers as the Mahler. These are fabulous drivers. This is where you'll notice the big improvement. Not only richer and fuller, but the soundstage grew as well. Wider and deeper. I'm happy I made the move to the Strauss, after one year with them, I have no upgrade plans anywhere in the forseeable future. My room is 14' wide X 24' long X 8.5' high.
So if you're only looking to improve bass performance, maybe the REL is the way to go. However, I believe the Strauss would be a better overall upgrade, YMMV.

Regards,
John
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