Any design, no matter how brilliant, is only as good as the components used to realize it. Richard Lord's obsession extends to using components that go beyond industry standards and indeed finds its origins in his prior experience in the British Royal Navy. This ‘mil spec’ approach to subwoofer construction results in designs that are easily understood - just try picking one up! However, the REL approach employs far more than simply brute force. Each component is hand selected for maximum sound quality and durability. REL uses specially commissioned toroidal power transformers and over-specified resistors and capacitors. The power output devices are massively overrated units, each one capable of flowing 250 watts of power, most of it in the form of high current. The Strata III, rated at a mere 100 watts, uses two of these devices in parallel. REL uses only power MOSFETS because of their inherent ability to thermally stabilize (unlike a bipolar transistor that can thermally ‘run away’ with itself). The built-in power protection devices are designed to withstand up to 3000 volts of energy. In a word, RELs are overbuilt.