Revel Performa F228 Be speaker... thoughts?


I am considering upgrading my main stereo speakers from my Epos M22’s, and I have been recommended Revel F228 Be’s. Reading about the brand, I am learning Revel is the high end speaker brand of Harman Industries. This retail for about $10,000 a pair but can be gotten at a nice discount. I have read reviews and they are described as great treble, smooth midrange, full range punchy bass, pretty much every $10,000 speaker should have that! They were also named The Absolute Sound speaker of the year in 2019. I am looking to spend about $5 to 6 thousand, roughly for the new speakers.

It would be very helpful if those who have heard these Revel’s would compare them against some of the well discussed and well respected speakers like Harbeths, Vandersteens, Focals, Dynaudios, Devores, ProAcs, Raidhos, Magicos that have similar models at this price. I am a listener of vocals, some pop (more old than new), soul, country, blues, jazz. Not hard rock, punk, electronica or rap. In the past I have been quite impressed by large Harbeths and Vandersteen 3’s in friend's homes, these have a full, strong vocals and bass, but not too sharp a sound in the highs. For domestic purposes, I need to stick to a speaker that fits our home decor, no giant panels or anything too outlandish looking for a multi purpose living area.
troidelover1499
Sometimes a great deal is a great deal and sometimes it's necessary to move a product that was optimistically priced originally. Revels typically needs lots of juice and usually sound light in the bass, but if they sound good in your room that's all that matters. 

The f228be was built to fill a gap in the revel lineup and their listening tests show almost no preference in the f208, f228be and salon 2 so smart money would be the f208 unless you're one of those crazy audiophiles that loves to throw money away.
Revels are nice but can be a bit boring. They do nothing wrong, and most things right. But they lack any kind of character.
Wonderful.  Exactly what I prefer.
I suppose it is a compliment to say a speaker is without character, so long as it is full range, and has really good clarity to play through what is sent to it.


troidelover1499 OP



F228 Be
Look to be a speaker that’s not too hard an impedance load in the bass, will even suit Class-D, and at 90db many >100w 8ohm tube amps with 4ohm taps, which will half to 50w when using those 4ohm taps.
https://www.stereophile.com/images/119Revelfig1.jpg

Cheers George
My problem with revel speakers is that while their wide dispersion design is great for HT they need more power than any avr is going to have and I just don't find their soundstage convincing for 2 channel. your results may vary.