Revel vs. Aerial vs. B&W

I won't be in Raleigh then, but perhaps Mr. Kelly's roadshow will wind its way up to the Motor City. I would love to hear them.

In my opinion, Revel Studios are a significantly nicer speaker than B&W 802's. I say this while being a B&W owner. I was close to buying 802's until the dealer connected the same system to Revel Studios. In my opinion, there is no comparison, and for me , no looking back. The source system consisted of a Mark Levinson #335 amp, ML 380s preamp, and ML CD player. I listened to both speakers.....each through the same source components. The Revels imaged better, created nicer soundstage, had smoother and more controlled bass, all with similar midrange character to the B&W sound. They are a little less efficient however, and might require a little more amplifier power......although I also listened to the Revels with a ML 383 (100wpc a 8 ohms), which played them as loud as I would ever care to listen without any strain. Revels are 88db @ 1 watt/ 1 meter. 802's I believe are 91 db.
As for the Aerials, I have not heard them and cannot say.

Good luck in the search.

Thanks for the feedback on Revel. I think it will probably end up being a face-off between Revel and Aerial.

Acolcer,

What is your new speaker now? and how do you like it?

Just last week, I had extensive listening sessions on Revel Studio vs N801. The Revel provides stringer mid-bass/slam and the top is smooth. Cello sounds good here. The N801 has superior midrange and deep bass. Human voice and high frequency percussions sounds better and more transparent.
I pick N801 because after 4 hours of back-to-back; The N801 does have lower distortion to your ears.

I listened to Aerial 10T powered by Classe on another dealer. It is nice on smaller room but it does not compare to N801.

I would consider the Revel Salon's before the Studio's. The Studio's are not coherent from about 2khz up. I've not heard that problem with the Salon's. Soundstage depth is excellent with Revel's but the Revel Salon and especially the Studio's sound a little polite for my tastes.

I've not heard the Aerial 20T's but the other Aerial's I have heard are overly warm with loose bass. Getting good bass control from the Aerial's will require brute amplification.