There is not a better speaker then the 228be in its price range. Just have to listen to things and see what you like. They are a flat accurate speaker and that does not mean you will like them but they are near perfect.
Revels sound nothing like Harberths, having a modern, analytical house sound that I find cold/clinical. Be domes can also be generalized to be on the unforgiving side compared to fabric, but then again Harbeth uses metal domes, too. You should really go audition and judge for yourself.
Revel is good for live and home cinema,Harbeth is better for music.
As my goal, however unrealistic, is to have a 5.1 system that would sound as good for music on CD (and 24 bit downloads) as it would for DTS MA audio from BD movies. But just to be clear, a speaker's ability to play "loud", even to more realistically deliver BD movie special effects, is not a priority. My tentative plan was a pair of 228be's for the front-whose apparently excellent off axis response would even be close to ear level when sitting ~ 10 feet away. And then a pair of Revel 128be's in the rear; plus my Rythmik F12 subs.
But the big questions is how would my ears like the beryllium tweeter with my less than pristine 60s pop recordings TV episodes and movies-though mostly pressed on major label CDs, DVDs and BDs?
Can anyone who may own beryllium Revels, or other brands with such tweeters, offer any such experiences? Would they sound too unforgiving, analytical, harsh and/or fatiguing with the above sources?
If so, how much might the beryllium tweeter "coldness/harshness " be "softened/warmed" by using the 228be's bi-amping option and driving the tweets and mids with a reasonably affordable 300B SET amp? Or even something like a First Watt F4 or J2 Class A solid state amp? Please share any such 228b3 bi-amping experiences.
In any case, I would also need to audition a pair of Harbeth's in the 228be's price range. But which Harbeth stand mount speakers for the rear? And which for the center speaker?
