What is the order of rel subs?

Here is the order from the rel website:
Stampede
strata III
strata 5
storm 5
stadium III
stentor III
studio III

That is certainly the order BUT does not include the new B series nor the fact that all of the above except the Stentor and Studio are discontinued in the States. There is some fudge factor, but it is probably about right that the new B3 goes in between the Storm 5 and the Stadium III, the B2 is probably close either above or below the performance of the Stadium III and the B1 is between the Stadium III and Stentor III. Certainly when I spoke with Sumiko about the models, they felt that the Britannia line represented a step forward from the "St" series and indicated that the B1 would stomp all over the Stadium III. I have not compared the two directly, but it seems as though the B1 does not have any advantage over the Stadium in absolute extension (13 versus 12 hz) but certainly has more power with a 500 watt versus a 200 watt amp. Unless the price was great or the appearance important, I think the Britannia line represents a "sweet spot" in the Rel lineup. I believe the B3 was the Absolute Sound mag's subwoofer of the year for 2006 which is pretty high praise for its musicality.

I've owned a Stadium II, a Stadium III and a B1. I sold the B1 and went back to a Stadium III. I think REL, now owned by Sumiko, has gone the home theater route. That may be fine for some people, but I'm a two-channel purist.

As noted here and elsewhere, with the new lineup it's really hard to tell what's going on with the line. It's also interesting that REL's top two subs, the Stentor and Studio, still share the Stadium, Storm and Strata basic configuration. So if they truly believe the front-firing woofer is better, why do their top subwoofers not have that design?

Can't tell you as I am only repeating what they told me. Obviously, they have purchased the company and can sell what they want where they want. If they felt the Stadium III were better than the B series, they could sell it or offer it in addition to the new series. I have heard the argument that the B series might be "less musical" or "more for home theater" but it seems like most who hear the B series like what they hear. I do, and find it quite musical--far more so than my old Velodyne (which I only used for HT), but you have the advantage of direct comparison. Seems like good subs can be build downard firing or forward firing. I wish there were more reviews out there from independent sources. The only one I know of is the Absolute Sound Mag which raved about the B3, but I have not seen a single review of the B1. For me, the measure was whether I could integrate the sub relatively seamlessly into my two channel listening (which I could). The fact that it also works well in my HT setup is a bonus. I imagine the higher power levels of the B series may allow for better integration into HT, but I am not convinced that having more power in reserve is necessarily a detriment for two channel. Still, it is interesting to read of someone that prefers the Stadium to the B1 in direct comparison.

Okay, you guys seem to know you REL subs and I am hoping you can share some of your expertise with me. I have purchased two REL Q108 small subs to go with a pair of Totem Arros and to serve in both 2-channel stereo and less importantly in HT. Since I have two, instead of using the three wires for the Neutrik cable with two into one speaker hook-up at the amp and the other wire into the second speaker hook-up, I decided to attach the third wire to the center channel speaker hook-up (I do not use the center channel speaker for stereo). Anybody using two subs? Was this is a similar connection or what did you do?

Should I still be tieing each sub into just the two main speakers instead for stereo in the same manner as if I were only running one sub?

With the LFE, my amp only has one output so I am going to only one REL for HT via the LFE. The other REL is then driven in the same manner as if I were running stereo (via the high level and neutrik cable. Anybody have comments on this?

Also, since I have an AV receiver for running stereo in zone one, I had always used the LFE output, even in stereo mode to drive the sub. I have not changed the programming from this, should I? If I don't, isn't my amp/receiver still sending the LFE signal to the REL when I am just running stereo?

Believe it or not, the Q108s actually provide pretty good bass support for the Arros which are lacking in the bottom end. The Qs certainly don't go as deep as the better models, but compared to the B&W sub they replaced, there is a huge improvement in speed, accuracy and musicality with no negative impact on the soundstage and imaging with the Arros (running two subs).

Thanks in advance for your feedback.