Feelings when listening Rel ST Series subwoofers

To answer the question (sorry for delay) I have never heard any other REL sub other than the Strata III in my home. (BTW there is a Strata 5 coming out soon!).

I was discussing my sub yesterday with the folks at REL and found myself making the following characterization, which I wanted to pass along to you: When I play the REL Strata III, I don't hear the sub. What I hear is that my speakers sound better, fuller, deeper, richer. I have heard a lot of subs in other circumstances (but to be fair not in my home) and other subs seems to always sound like subs. You hear the sub, it's like - yeah I hear the sub. When I play my REL Strata III I often question whether it's really on because I don't "hear the sub". As an experiment I turn it off and sure enough my speakers suddenly sound threadbare by comparison.

It's spooky.

Art

Curious feeling, Artmaltman

Thank you.

Maybe someone has used two Stratas any time, or has listened to both of them?

Yes, that's a much better explanation that my feeble attempt. In my music system the Strata III disappears. It just supports the speakers seamlessly. But in my home theatre setup I expect to hear dinosaur stomps and cannon blasts with dramatic effect. That's why my wife calls it "rumble vision". The sub there needs to kick in and be noticed, as opposed to a delicate blending.

Enjoy,
Bob

You may also find that you prefer the non-ported Strata as opposed to the ported Storm. I felt the Strata was more accurate...it was close...but it seemed quicker and a bit more accurate head-to-head.

Troutki, your comment is quite interesting, since Storm is more expensive than Strata.

By the way, we should wait to listen to the new Strata 5 (www.rel.net)