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Shout out to Revival Audio Atalante 3 speakers

Normally I’d write a long review of something as I never seem to keep it short. Right now I’m looking at over two pages of handwritten notes and can’t bring myself to put it all to pen, so to speak. Throw in images and links and it becomes a thing unto itself. And it’s sad to say I won’t for what deserves pages of accolades.

I will say this though: if you want a great all around speaker that’s eminently musical at the expense of nothing of import, then the Revival Audio Atalante 3 speaker should be at the top of you short list.

If you crave tone, body and soul, then listen to this speaker.
If you enjoy air, ambience, shimmer and decay, again, listen to this speaker.
If etch, shrillness and a hot top end bother you, no need to look elsewhere.
If the bottom octave is not of paramount importance but a strong mid and upper bass done realistically floats your boat, this will easily suffice.
If coherence and presence is a big deal for you, no need to ask for any more cards as you have a winning hand.
If a beautifully finished cabinet is important, one that harkens back to better days, then this will fit into any decor.
If pedigree matters, then rest assured that this is designed and assembled completely in France. Also, the designer has over 30 years designing speakers for Focal-JM Lab, Dynaudio and others. The drivers are unique to the brand and not off the shelf for other brands to use.
Finally, if price is a factor, these retail for only $2500 and if made by another company, would command multiples of it’s asking price, which I was told, is probably going to go up soon. One member who I’ve been communicating with told me they got 5 pallets of speakers in and they were all mostly accounted for and 5 pairs sold while he was at the dealer auditioning them (2 were of the larger 5 series).

Demand is so high that they came out with a less costly design (two models) to take up some of the slack and to spread the love to those of lessor pockets, which is admirable.

I can’t tell you how much I love these speakers but this should give you an idea: I no longer listen critically to anything anymore. I no longer crave this or that. I can listen at lower volumes and hear all I want or need to. These speakers emotionally connect with me and did so within the first few minutes of listening. There’s no more wind in my audio sails but if I had the money and the space, I’d give the Atalante 5 a serious listen and most likely get them.

Now I find most of the discussions here amusing, at best. Too many unicorns chased and nothing to show for it. Too many lost in search of that perfect tree when you have the whole forest to enjoy at any time and at any angle you wish, if you chose to. Time to choose.

All the best,
Nonoise

 

 

128x128nonoise
abd1
157 posts
 

@nonoise I struggled saying the highs are edgy because I don't think that's fair. I think that comes from me being so used to the sound of the Cubes which are so natural sounding in the highs. I don't really want to compare because the Cubes are 5-6x the cost of the Atalante's but to me they are similar in that they are both very well balanced speakers. When listening to the Atalante's nothing jumps out as being "off" or excessive in either a good or bad way. I think just the highs I'm used to are a bit more open, refined and natural but they probably should be from a speaker costing 5-6x more. I am initially overly impressed with the Atalante's.

Speaking of the Duet's, I think those are fantastically built speakers. Considering I got my pair for under $1k they are the best bargain I've ever had in HiFi. But, they need a lot of current and tend to open up at higher volumes. They aren't very efficient. However, once they're in their zone they sound very accurate, detailed and open. Maybe a even bit boring and less engaging, but very accurate. Im using them in a condo with a devialet 200 and its a good combo. I don't do a lot of critical listening there at all so they're more than up to the task.

My wife just informed me she's going out of town in late february for a week. That means I get to set up speakers in other parts of the house while she's gone! I'm going to set the Atalante's up in the tv room/office with a Primaluna Evo300 amp that I'm not using right now and probably just use a Bluesound Node as a streamer/dac/pre and see how they sound. Should be fun.

 

agisthos
506 posts
 

@nonoise you still off the merry go round and have these?

Apparently the genius behind this brand, Daniel Emonts, was chief designer at Focal and Dynaudio, but in particular he was responsible for the Dynaudio Heritage Special, one of my favorite sounding bookshelf speakers.

If the Atalante 3 can get close to that sound for 1/3rd the price, that would really be something. These are cheap enough to just buy on a whim.

nonoise's avatar
nonoise OP
10,875 posts
 

@agisthos 

Yup, still off the merry-go-round with no urge to upgrade. Its pairing with the Technics SU-G700M2 still has me scratching my head as to how lucky I got.

As for how close they get to the 3X more expensive Dynaudio Heritage Special, that's been pointed out by a couple reviewers who had or still have those speakers. 

They're not perfect by any means but you can say that about any speaker as they're all compromises of one kind or another. It's just that these speakers are tuned to a level that I never tire of listening to them and never find myself analyzing anything. I just plop down on the old sofa and enjoy the music. 

If I ever upgrade, it'll be when I get a bigger place and it'll be their big brother, the Atalante 5. I don't see any reason to look elsewhere.

All the best,"
Nonoise

tubeguy80
82 posts
 

These are beautiful in a very boring, traditional way. I love that. So many crazy speakers these days look like seashells or bad modern art projects. 

nonoise's avatar
nonoise OP
10,875 posts
 

I couldn't agree more. They hired a well respected design studio in France to come up with the looks and it's a combination of an old world speaker look with a Japanese flourish. 

They've recently came out with a darker color for all their models from customer demand. I like it better than the original.

All the best,
Nonoise

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