Rel Strata III versus Rel Britannia B3


Hi all,

I am looking to match a pair of Spendor S5e's (powered with Simaudio I5.3) with a subwoofer and was trying to figure out if anyone has experience with the Strata III and its new "replacement" the Britannia B3. I believe that the B3 is a ported design from a structural perspective versus non-ported for the strata. (sidenote: I have heard good things about the B1 comparable or even better to the Storm in the ST series).

Anyone have any experience out there with both?

Thanks!
froodyguy
Drubin,
I like the 140's very much. As the Sterophile article stated they take a long time to break in. I am using a Musical Fidelity a3.2 integrated and am thinking of another integrated with more power. I'll see.
I think there is an even newer line after the Britannia. Still I'm happy with my Strata III. The most important thing is to GET a sub. It seems to add color to the entire spectrum of music, I don't know how to explain it.
Art
Well - I had to ship my Spendors back to fedex for damage inspection. Super long story, but am now essentially on hold for sub set-up with the B-3. For the 10 hours I had to play with them both in the system I could tell an immediate difference, but it will take some fine tuning as the listening in the room was very location specific.
Artman,

When you say "color" do you mean unfaithful reproduction (as the term is often used here) or do you mean more vivid and textured?

I'm not trying to be an arse - I'm doing lots of research on RELs and the Velodyne DD series, and one of the things the Brits tell me on their boards is the REL subs measure horribly, suggesting they may color the sound (negatively) a bit, so the meaning of "color" in your post is very important to me.

Thanks,
Howard
Howard,

I would be curious as to what you find out regarding your concept of color...

Cheers