Rel subwoofers

I added a Stentor(ported) to my big,irreplaceable and pampered, Avalon Ascent II's(sealed design) awhile ago.Just to add a subtle amount of low octave weight(really just tickling the bottom most octave).My Avalons are pulled out,about eight feet into my dedicated room,as they excel in amazing stage depth and detail,but this gives up a "touch" of bottom weight.Really very little is lost,but I came from the BIG Infinity school.
I was very sceptical about this,as the Ascents are bullet fast and incredibly detailed(a friend has just gotten the new Magico Mini II's,which,though highly touted and "wonderful",are no more revealing than these "classic" Avalons)and my group of very experienced audio pals were NOT supportive of this match-up.They were almost "militant" about it not working!...Heh.heh!!
Well I had an inkling that this could work,and work it definitely did.It took me a LONG time to blend the pairing,but the big REL is amazing in it's ability to disappear.I am talking "absolutely seamless"!Now things are really interesting,in that my soundstage is deep/powerful/palpable,and reminds me of my four tower Infinity days.Oh,the old days-:)
I am very impressed with virtually everything REL produces.This company(I know it is now Sumiko)is very sensitive to what a "sub bass system" should do,and they DO work!
Don't believe those that state that a good sub cannot keep up with an articulate main speaker.If you choose the correct sub,to match the main speaker and room volume,there should be no problems.One caveaat though...it DOES take a LONG time to blend to perfection,as it is very easy to get lost in too much output,but it's also alot of fun.
Good luck.

Absolutely the new ported britannia series are an improvement over the older series and there is no port chuffing .they are really a good buy for the money when you compare then to some of the bloated sounding subs out there..excellent for music ,,as they are powered by a linear amp.

i have to agree with most posts here that the Britannia series are really an improvement over the sT series in both ht and audip apps. i've owned most of the rels and the britannia is really something else. integration is also as good as the st series because it uses the same crossover. Even withthe ported britannia rels , there is no port schaffing or port distortion. Its just one clean bass.

Also, The Britannia B3 won subwoofer of the year 2006 in The Absolute Sound. It really is that good!

I prefer the ST version over the Britannia. Better looks, build quility and intergration with almost any speaker. The Britannia may be a better fit with Home Theater....and yes the larger Storm thru Studio subs are bottem firing and ported (no port noise) and are better in every way. In defence of the Strata, it does what it is designed to do and does it well.

Gladstone,
Do a forum search. There are several posts comparing the ST series to the Britannia series. In all the posts I found reviewers state that the Britannia series are an improvement over the older line and I agree. Plus, I prefer forward firing subwoofers.

Here is a good review and I agree with his findings:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rspkr&1144022560&read&keyw&zzrel+britannia

In what sense does it sound superior to the older line?

The newer Britannia series are all ported and sound much better than the older line. There is no port noise at all.

a related review: http://www.10audio.com/rel_strat3.htm

Agree with CMK. They do sound better!

Yes, they are much better, go deeper and with more definition and control.

I have a Storm III, the next model up from the Strata III. When I listened at the dealer to both there was a little difference in extension and quickness. I would imagine that in a small room you might not hear as much of a difference as in a large room, but it will also depend on your power amp and its bass response. I don't think my Storm III is ported, but if it is, I have never heard port noises coming from it. I am not sure about the more expensive Stentor and Stadium models.