Rlambert:
Although, I have owned KEF's for most of my "audiophile" life, I am very fond of, and will ALWAYS be a Vandersteen fan. In fact, when the time comes when I'll be ready to upgrade and change my speakers, Vandersteens (the 2Ce Signatures.... but the endcaps will be either glossy cherry or glossy rosewood..... or if these finishes are not provided by Richard V himself, then I will insist on unfinished endcaps and then I will pick up a can or two of "minwax" and do the job myself) will be my next choice. But being the present owner of speakers from "England" (the KEF Reference 102's with KUBE Equalizer), I cannot help but think that a subwoofer from the "UK" would matchup better with my KEF's than would a sub from America. So with that said then, I would say that which sub you should buy depends on what your primary priorities are. If you tend to go for accuracy and tightness over power and brute force, then I think you sould lean toward the REL. But now, if you need a sub more so for home theater than you would need for music listening, then I would lean toward the Vandersteen then. If you already have Vandersteen speakers to begin with, then the choice is obvious already.... Vandersteen. But for me, since I already own the KEF's, I would lean toward the REL (specifically, a Strata III) personally. If I were ever to own the Vandersteen 2Ce's (which even up to THIS day, they are still MY DREAM speakers), I don't EVEN know if I'll ever purchase a sub or not. They seem to go down pretty low all by themselves (the Vandersteen 2Ce's do have a VERY DEEP bass response), so that in my book, will negate the need for a subwoofer as far as I am concern.
So, with all of the factors weighed and all, I would give a "slight" edge to REL.
I don't think you will go wrong with either one (REL or Vandersteen). Good luck with your eventual purchase.
--Charles--
