HELP B&W 802D or Revel Ultima Salon2

Irv, thanls for the recommendation. I think thats a good investment and I will try it. I have listened with grills on and off. The adjustments simply increase/decrease tweeter and decrease bass for close to wall placement. My issue is low bass and midrange among other issues I mentioned in my previous post.

Sfstereo, with all due respect, I was simply offering my perspective here, and all suggestions and comments are welcome, even if similar suggestions were made elsewhere. Having said that, you are not wrong, I would prefer something more plug and play and not have to mess around so much with placement, room, etc. However, there may be no such animal if I want to play on this level. I appreciate Irv's suggestion, as the Dayton OmniMic is something I can buy to see if indeed these is a suckout issue, and then decide if/how I want to deal with it. For what it's worth, I have moved them around and improved the bass response significantly, but still have recessed vocals on some CDs (just listened again to Clapton Unplugged Layla cut and his voice was quite recessed), as well as the "deconstruct" issue I raised above.

Jeff, the Salon 2 is very sensitive to room placement for a lot of parameters, especially bass response. Much more so than my previous Legacy Focus speakers were, by a long shot. I've mentioned in other threads that when my Salon 2s are set up for best imaging and response in the 200Hz and up range my bass response is terrible. I finally gave up and got a subwoofer I could move around to my heart's content, and leave the Salon 2s in positions optimized for everything else. I use a 80Hz-6db/octave high filter for the Salon 2 woofers, which of course requires four amplifier channels. (The mids/high run direct from the pre-amp.) In my room there was really no other choice.

I have a lot of fun with the OmniMic real-time analyzer screen too. It shows you where the energy in a recording really is. I like 1/12th octave smoothing mode.

You might be surprised at the effect the tweeter control has on voices. Try turning it down to -.5 with the grilles off and see what happens.

Of course, it just might be that you will like the 802D better. I know someone that definitely prefers them to my Salon 2s. It's not a crime. :)

Thanks Irv. Interesting how it played out for you. I got the Salon2 as a full range answer (and sold my JL F112 assuming it would be, ugh). If it's not, I'm happy to go the sub route, but probably don't need the Salon 2 as IMO it becomes overkill at that point (financial overkill as well,lol).

I did pick up the Velodyne Optimum 12 and played Adele's Rolling in the Deep, both with and without sub, and since the recording is goosed in the bass and boosted/close mic'ed on vocal, it sounded great without the sub and not much better with. It was after that that I decided to try the Clapton Unplugged recording and was once again disappointed with the recessed vocal. It's like a roller coaster, good song, bad song. I have no problem admitting I may like the "lesser" 802Di or even drop down to an 803Di and go back to a high-end sub or pair of subs.

I do look forward to playing with the OmniMic just to see what's going on.

Which Legacy Focus did you have: 20/20, HD, SE? I was really interested in both the Focus SE and the Whisper XD but nowhere to hear them. How did you like to Focus and how did it compare to others (even the salon)?

Jeff, of course you realize that the signature of a great speaker is that it makes every recording sound different. That's neutrality for you. ;-) "Good song, bad song..."

I don't consider the 802D "lesser", I consider it different. To my ears the 802Ds aren't as neutral. They're a bit too technicolor for me. But no one appointed me or anyone else the arbiter of goodness, and it just might be you like the 802Ds better.

I had the original Legacy Focus, purchased in 1996. Three 12" woofers, and that bi-pole bass made them easier to place in a room for smooth bass response than most box speakers. I was happy with them for years. They didn't image especially well, or at least I never got them to, but until I heard the Salon 2 nothing got me to change. The Dunlavy V almost did, but the treble wasn't as detailed at the Legacys. I've never heard the Whisper.

I am also considering upgrading to Salon 2s. I owned the B&W 802Ns several years back...they made me buy back the same speakers I sold, Audio Physic Virgo IIs. I use a pair of Rel Storm IIIs w/ the Virgos and would like to save some space and go with a full range speaker. All the same speakers come up...Wilson Sasha,Sophia,B&W 800d-802d, Thiel 3.7 and Revel Salon 2. I have to deal with a tough WAF...so that is my real bump in the upgrade road. I have the same problem as all...how do we audition these fine speakers in our room with our equipment! My heart felt deduction is the Revel Salon 2 for it's strong reviews and Living Room looks. Second place goes to the Thiel 3.7