Rel Strata III versus Rel Britannia B3


Hi all,

I am looking to match a pair of Spendor S5e's (powered with Simaudio I5.3) with a subwoofer and was trying to figure out if anyone has experience with the Strata III and its new "replacement" the Britannia B3. I believe that the B3 is a ported design from a structural perspective versus non-ported for the strata. (sidenote: I have heard good things about the B1 comparable or even better to the Storm in the ST series).

Anyone have any experience out there with both?

Thanks!
froodyguy
Well - I had to ship my Spendors back to fedex for damage inspection. Super long story, but am now essentially on hold for sub set-up with the B-3. For the 10 hours I had to play with them both in the system I could tell an immediate difference, but it will take some fine tuning as the listening in the room was very location specific.
Artman,

When you say "color" do you mean unfaithful reproduction (as the term is often used here) or do you mean more vivid and textured?

I'm not trying to be an arse - I'm doing lots of research on RELs and the Velodyne DD series, and one of the things the Brits tell me on their boards is the REL subs measure horribly, suggesting they may color the sound (negatively) a bit, so the meaning of "color" in your post is very important to me.

Thanks,
Howard
Howard,

I would be curious as to what you find out regarding your concept of color...

Cheers
Froody, I haven't found much out so far. I'm seeing some appealing prices on the Britannia series right now, so I'm actively researching the issue now. I'll let you know what I find.

Howard
I know Artmaltman and when he says "color," he is not referring to coloration. I don't want to put words in his mouth, but I believe he is talking about tonal color or saturation. He and I have had conversations about the sonic equivalent of the color dial on your TV. Turn it down too far and approach black & white. I think he's saying tha his REL sub seems to add to the saturation (in a good way) across the board in his system, including perceived tonality in the treble.