Quality and Capability. A beautiful product

Absolutely None

The Storm III is an excellent subwoofer. I think that an REL subwoofer is the single most effective upgrade, for the money, that one can make to their music system. I've owned a Sunfire True Subwoofer MkII and I think that the REL is a far superior product.

Hookup is very straight forward. Fine tuning your stereo with the REL takes a bit of time. I found that it was hard to make the REL sound bad even with mis-adjustment. This was not the case with my Sunfire Sub.

This is a quality piece of gear. Fit and finish is fantastic. Quality of materials is superb. And operation is flawless. A great component. It's the only manufacturer that I would consider for subwoofer purchase.

Similar Products Used:

Sunfire True Subwoofer MkII

Seamless integration with main speaker
Easy to set up and fine tune
Solid built, looks good.
Great customer service (both Sumiko and Ambrosia)
A great product: No wonder it won prizes on various audio magazines.

I wish I could afford this musical "bass extender" a long time ago. This is one hell of a product when the dealer said, "You'll love it", and then once I received and tried it for only 2 days, I admit, "I love it!"

This is it, the subwoofer that I have been looking for to augment my main speakers. Driven by single ended triode monoblock 3.6w amps, the 93 dB folded horn loaded speaker needed a decent foundation to support its glorious upper bass and up. So far only the REL Storm III can do the job, and it does it quietly, inobtrusively. It's a little surprise to end up having the setting low for a -3dB roll off from the main Horns. I feel satisfied with the REL connected to high level via supplied Neutrik cord, set at B2 (34Hz) and 9:30 volume. A dedicated power cord and power conditioner have also been used to provide the juice to the REL. Isolation stand will be considered later. Placement is easy, I just put the REL at the right corner, pulling main speakers out to the room, and after setting up the music seemed to come from the mains, only deeper, taller, and lower. Believe it or not, I hear more details from recordings with the REL in the system.

It only will get better with more use. My associated equipment:
CAL Delta/Meridian 518/CAL Alpha as sources/volume control
Decware ZEN monoblocks SV83Ms with stands
TheHornShoppe single driver speaker
And REL Storm III as the newest member
Various spkr and interconnect cables from Kimber/Illuminati
Various power conditioners from Chang, PAC IDOS, and PS Audio.
Music ranges from Diana Krall, Holly Cole, Patricia Barber, Santana, Eagles, Eric Clapton to Renée Fleming and Jennifer L'Amore. In a nutshell, I enjoy ANY kind of recordings as long as there is some emotion involved.

Similar Products Used:

M&K
Hsu

Integration to such an extent that it is impossible to
'hear ' the sub.

None

Well, a complete review at this stage is not possible, since I only have had it now for 2 weeks. I agree with other reviewers here with regards to playing it in, it sounded horrible at first. I put it here however to assure potential buyers for not auditioning it out of the box! Give it some time to play in, and major improvement will set in. Mine is still improving, although I think it has almost reached its optimum potential. (If it hasn't, it is a bonus) It is truly an amazing subwoofer compared to other that I have heard and used. Anything else in the market has the same character: Either the sub draws attention to itself, because the bass is overblown, or you just don't hear it because it is too soft. The REL however integrates so well with my Sonus Faber Concerto's, that it just sounds like the Sonus Fabers delivers bass truly down to 18Hz. Stereo imagery is much better, with most of my music just snapping in to focus as never before.

I will definitely follow up with a complete review in due time.

My system

Marantz CD-17 KI CD-player
Marantz PM-17/SM-17 (BTL) (Replacing a Plinius 2150/SA 50 pre/power combo, AS AN UPGRADE, believe it or not)
Sonus Faber Concerto's
Cable Talk Broadcast interconnects
Cable Talk Concert Biwire Speaker cable

Riaan Rankin

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha YST SW300 ,Yamaha YST SW320

deep bass down to 20hz; extremely fast; stunningly articulate and tight; rosewood finish is gorgeous; small size; no sound-degrading crossovers; positively astonishing transparency and blend with mains

went above my original budget

Rel makes the finest MUSIC subs available anywhere, rivaled only by the multi-kilobuck offerings from the likes of Audio Physic, Talon, Aerial Acoustics, etc. The Storm III fills my 19'x18' room with fast, deep, tight, transparent, musical bass that can be FELT (when called for) as well as heard. Note that I own Magnepan 1.6 main speakers, which have stunningly fast and seamless bass in their own right. It is near impossible to find a sub that can keep up with their speed and transparency so that the blend is truly seamless and transparent. The Rel accomplishes this feat with aplomb! It simply sounds like my Maggies can go down to 20hz--that's it.

Note that the Rel is a bass extender--meaning it doesn't insert a crossover to cut off bass going to the mains to re-route it to the sub. Your mains will still have the untouched full-range signal to reproduce. You then bring the Rel in just under the point where your mains fall off in bass response. Their unique circuitry samples the signal coming from you amp in order to learn its "flavor" and then produces bass with the same character as that going to the mains. Whatever the technical stuff, this thing produces the most transparent deep bass you can add to your mains imaginable. [If you feel you must insert a crossover (why?), check out the Vandersteen--another highly musical sub.] By the way, I have no clue what people are referring to concerning port noise. I have cranked this thing with sustained low bass test tones and this puppy has behaved impeccably, as all the rave professional reviews (and test bench findings) in both the US and Europe will attest.

A quick word about setup. I get the feeling that some people who try out this sub will treat it like a home theater boom-boom sub. This sub does a good job on home theater as well, but NOT in the sense many people assume is "correct". My Bach organ fugues or Tchaikovsky 1812 Overture disc (with live canon fire) sound positively frightening (a good thing) in terms of bass weight, dynamics, and sheer power (i.e., I can feel it). And my test cd confirms this thing definitely shakes my room with 20hz sustained tones. But it does not kick me in the chest...because real music doesn't. A real pipe organ or bass will shake the hall and bathe you in bass power, just like the Rel wil. But the artificial punch-in-the-gut feeling sounds from a movie soundtrack are designed to produce distorted boom-boom excitement. This is a fun effect, but much different than real MUSICAL deep bass.

In short, the Rel is 5+ stars for music or (like me) a combo music/movies setup. If I were outfitting a dedicated HT setup, then I might look at Hsu Research (boom for the buck), M&K (big boom), or Sunfire (astonishingly small size+boom).

Similar Products Used:

Vandersteen; Sunfire

Very Musical & Easy to Integrate

a little big but then again, most good subs are.

Let me preface my review by saying that I belive a subs' effectiveness & performance is very difficult to articulate independent of the loudspeakers. So please audition these once you've decide what you'll be pairing them with! That said the Storm III is EXACTLY what I was looking for...

I had been endlessly debating between the Nautilus 804s and the N803s. I wanted to buy a 2ch (or 2.1) setup I would have for a LONG time and be happy with for music#1 and HT#2. Although I love the N804 it really does lack low end umph (u can see my review of the N804) and the 803s are much better in this regard. Let me just say that it was no contest w/the StormIII. The dynamics and fullness of the music of the N804 combined w/the StormIII killed the N803 standalone and defintely rivals the N802. In fact, the beauty of the N804/sub combo is that you get the benefits of the N802 sound with less of the drawbacks such as needing a fairly large room and having to worry much more about placement.

In short, I'd have to say that the StormIII is a VERY musical sub which easily integrates with and complements a full range loudspeaker. This is NOT a boomy sub. Having the Storm III in my system was much more transparent than either the Velodyne HGS, HSU and definitely the Sunfire which I think draws way too much attention to itself. The REL is also very flexible with a wide range of crossovers. The Rel can also be setup to run directly from the speaker outs and this makes all the difference for music. **One note** the Storm III is much improved over the Storm or Storm II in this regard. Before you had to hook it up one way or another. WIth the StormIII, the sub detects whether the signal is coming from the speaker outputs or from the LFE sub output. Thus, you leave it hooked up BOTH ways and it switches betwen the two when you're listening to music or when your watching HT. This is VERY convenient since before you had to manually switch the connections yourself or just live with it one way.

On value, I didn't want to pay much more than $1000 - $1500 for a sub but at $1800 I think it's a steal in price/performance compared to any other sub I've listened to. More importantly, without the StormIII I would have to spend alot more $ on loudspeakers to get the same level of performance and enjoyment. Consequently, I'd say the Storm III is a great value.

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne HGS12,15, HSU (models?), Sunfire

WOW! EVERYTHING IT WAS MADE FOR!!!!

ABSOLUTELY NONE>......BEST SUB FOR MUSIC I HAVE HEARD BAR NONE!!!!!

I was for a whole year saving up for a pair of Sonus Faber Amati Homage speakers or a pair of Revel Salon speakers (couldnt make up my mind) until my local dealer showed me a setup that cost $10-$15 thousand less that blew em both out of the water(no kiddin either) A pair of Sonus Faber Signum's hooked up with a REL STORMIII!!!!! WOW!!!!! Everyone that heard the setup said the same thing. This is as a pure music sub.......i dont waste my time with home theatre garbage(as long as the screen is large and i can hear it i dont care)so i dont know how it does for that realm...........but as a pure music sub its the bomb......yeah Stone Temple Pilots 1st CD (Core) ROCKS in this setup along with Pink Floyd's Dark side of the moon.......% stars all around!

Similar Products Used:

Paradigms, Velodynes, Revels, Mirage, etc.....

Seamless integration with main speakers, tight, articulate bass, extension to 20 Hz

Doesn't really extend the dynamic range of the main speakers, though in my case, I don't really care. Your needs may be different.

I use this sub with my Newform Research R-645's. My old Velodyne F-1800XR was just too slow for the Newforms, though it mated well with my ole speakers (NHT 2.5i's).

I use a right corner placement and the sub integrates seamlessly with the Newforms. Note that I only use this sub to provide the bottom octave and let the Newforms do the rest. $1,800 is a lot to spend on that octave, but it's really worth it.

This sub is not boomy at all. It is tight, articulate and has great extension. Note however, that my unit is broken in. It sounded really, really horrible when I first turned it on and played music through it (I remember telling my wife that I may have made a mistake). However, after about 25 - 30 hours, it started sounding tighter and after about 100 hors, sounded excellent.

I don't have any experience with the port noise ("halo") mentioned in some other reviews of this product. The only time I can hear any port chuffing is when I play a 20 Hz test tone at a high level and place my ear at floor level next to the port. Since this isn't how I typically listen to music, it's not a bother (at the listening chair, the ony rattling I can hear is the widow adjacent to the sub).

One word of caution: be prepared to roll off this sub at a much lower level than you would ordinarily think. I use a setting of A4 (27 Hz) on the active bass controller, and this ensures that the sub produces no contribution to the sound beyond 50 Hz. I found that REL's suggestion contained in their well-written manual is correct - a corner placement and sensible (read - not real high) setting of the ABC filter produces the most seamless integration. Note that I also have the REL sitting on top of a 16" x 16" X 2" concrete paving slab (Home Depot, about $2).

The REL is great with all kinds of music. Talvin Singh's "OK" has a lot of low frequency energy that is faithfully reproduced. Likewise, the drums on Bachir Attar's "The Next Dream" and the tympani from "Gnomus" on "Pictures at an Exhibition" (Andre Previn) sound full-bodied, but not bloated. Also great for rock recordings ("I love you Mary Jane" by Cypress Hill and Sonic Youth from the "Judgement Night" soundtrack also has a good deal of low frequency information which is reproduced well). I haven't tried this product with my home theatre and really don't intend to, since I'm happy with the twin Velodyne combination currently used.

This is an expensive product, but worth every penny. If you are in the market for a high-quality subwoofer (especially if your use is music-only), you should audition this product. If you are in the camp that subwoofers and high end music enjoyment are mutually exclusive, you are wrong.

Associated equipment:
Sunfire Signature amplifier
McCormack TLC
Pink Triangle Numeral CD player
Exposure 13 phono stage
Basis 1400 turntable with RB 300 arm and Benz Glider cart.
MIT Z-Center
MIT MI-330 and MH-750
Newform Research R-645
Z-Cord 2's, Seismic sinks, Black Diamond cones, conrete paving slabs, Bright Star Audio Big Rocks (I'm not sure of the name, but they're heavy suckers you put on top of a component to damp vibration - I shelled out >$100 for two of these things before I saw that Home Depot sells an 8" x 16" x 2" concrete paving slab that does pretty much the same thing for about $1 - oh well, buyer beware), etc.

Similar Products Used:

Velodyne, NHT

Easy to setup and integrate.

None

First, Yes I really did get a new Storm III sub for $1249.
I originally wanted a Strata III because $1200 is all I wanted to spend on a sub. This Storm III was a unit damaged in shipping. The "damage" is two very very small dings in the Cherry veneer on the edge. So small you only see it up close. But the person they ordered it for wanted one that was absolutely perfect even with though they offerd him a huge discount, so I was just lucky to be in the right place at the right time.
I can ditto everything that has already been said. I was looking for a way to improve my B&W P5 Speakers without shelling out $5000 for a pair of Nautilus 803s. Well this is close enough for me. Value was 100 stars for me, but that's cheating.

Similar Products Used:

Cheap HT Subs - Sony, etc.

LOW AND ACCURATE - ABLE TO BLEND PERFECTLY

NOT YOUR BONE CRUSHING HOME THEATRE SOFA BOUNCER

SOUNDS WARM AND WONDERFUL -- GREAT WAY TO UPGRADE ANY FULL RANGE SPEAKER-- ALLOWS THE REST OF THE MUSIC TO RIDE THE FUNDAMENTAL TONE/HARMONIC BEAUTIFULLY ! DOES THINGS TO THE OTHER FREQUENCIES THAT I COULDN'T HAVE IMAGINED

Similar Products Used:

MIRAGE SS1500,KLIPSCH KSW15 & 12, BOSTON'S PV800

Placement not crucial, blends seamlessly with main speakers due to both speaker and line level connection.

None!

After upgrading all my equipment I still was'nt satisfied with the musicality of my system. The CDM's with 6.5" drivers will produce wonderful mid-bass,however you can forget about any low bass. They make up for that in the upper frequency detail dept. so I knew a quality sub would be in order. Finding a sub to blend in with the CDM's was easy. My dealer offered to lend me any sub I chose since my B&W sub was horrible when it came to music listening so since I had auditioned Velodyne(my original 1st choice),Paradigm,Sunfire, the only 1 left was REL. After a very brief audition in my home, I found myself laughing at how this sub brought my whole system to life. The soundstage it helped create was magnificent and its ability to come in beneath the CDM's really helped open up the overall presentation of the music. Needless to say, I love listening to music again. It has been YEARS since I've been able to listen to any music and enjoy it. BTW, I listen to artists ranging from SADE to CREED so if you enjoy hard rock, this sub delivers. A 26" bass drum sounds like a 26" bass drum, not a thud or muffled noise. If you don't believe me, listen to Stone Temple pilots 1st CD, unreal sound. Extremely low bass oriented RAP will rattle the room too, ala Santana. Placement is simple to deal with also, with the almost infinitely adjustable x-over, you should have no problem blending with your main speakers. I cross mine at 36hz. Warning, setting the x-over too HIGH will yield a BOOMY sound. If you get a boomy sound from this sub,it's because you have it set too high. This is a quality sub and if set up correctly, you'll love it! I set mine up using the high level connection only. If you have a very good bass management feature in your receiver or pre/pro, the line level might work for you. That's the beauty of this sub, it is very versatile and will deliver the goods if used correctly, check it out, see what you think!!!! In my book, it's a 5 star product......

Similar Products Used:

B&W AS6, HGS-15 velodyne, Sunfire...My complete audio system: Classe SSP-25 pre/pro,Aragon 8008x3,Aragon 8002(dual mono)Magnum Dynalab tuner,Toshiba SD-5109 DVD(transport),Camelot Dragon,B&W CDM7SE(mains)CDMCSE(center)CDM1SE(surrounds)