Although I haven't compared 2 subs at the same time, my rel strata III works well with my magnepan 1.6's, which isn't a easy feat. A sub that is to be mated with magnepans has to be as tight and fast like the maggies. The fact that the strata III is sealed and has many tone controls allows it to blend quite nicely. I do have a question though concerning my rel. Does anyone know if the power switch on the REL Strata III should flicker when on? On mine the toggle switch for the power button which lights up, also flickers. Could this be a connection problem or is this common? Thanks.