Hello Agoners, I have/ had owned a long list of entry level Sonus Faber Speakers from Concertinos to Tiutos, so I'm very familiar with their (entry level) house sound. Now, I'm looking to add more to my collection and Revel speakers come up. Please tell me why should I (or should not) be a fan of Revel? How diff in house sound from SF? On my radar are the like M20, M22, f30, f32 Ultima Gem.
My electronics are Cdp: Cary 303, Bryston bcd1 Integrated amp: Cayin k88t tubes Preamp: Jeff Rowland Capri Amps: Belles 350 v2, Belles 150 v2, Threshold s500.
I've owned Revel M106 for about two years and they are incredible for their size and price. Give some Revels a listen. My Dad has a pair of Sonus Concertos and those are still a damn good sounding speaker, I could easily live with those too. That's the problem, so many good speakers that it can be tough choosing the "best" speaker.
I have listened to Revel and Sonus Faber speakers.
The difference, to me, is profound. The Sonus Faber's typically have a lush, romantic sound that some would say is colored. It is a speaker most would say is extremely "musical."
The Revel's are a high resolution speaker, the opposite of the Sonus Faber's. Uncolored and detailed, the Revel's represent exactly what is on the media you are playing and everything in the system chain up to the speakers.
They are both excellent speakers and you really should try and audition each. They are, again IMHO, at opposite ends of the musicality vs. accuracy continuum. Just about anything and any equipment will sound wonderful with the Sonus Fabers. The Revels will be revelatory (pun intended!) of your media and your equipment, but, when properly matched with equipment and playing well produced media, will offer a clarity that is startling and real.
Well, I didn't want to be the first to respond but I must say, I have heard the Revel Salon 2's and maybe it was the electronics but I was unimpressed for the price.
I think Ncarv summed it up pretty well. The Concertos sound great, they are non fatiguing, you can listen to them for hours on end. They are smooth and more forgiving of mediocre recordings.
The Revels have incredible transient response, they are small speakers that are fast and dynamic. They have surprisingly good bass and are very well balanced across the spectrum with great extension. They excel with great recordings , they reveal the warts on bad recordings. I can’t comment on the M22s because it’s been a long time since I’ve heard them. So a little more than 2 years and I still love the 106, which says a lot because I’ve owned a number of speakers over the past 30+ years. I replaced a pair of PSB M2 Platinum monitors with these and they are one of the few speakers I regret selling, they were a great speaker too.
IMO Revel offers superior quality from the cabinets to the awesome sound . I have Performa 208's and Salon 2's and can't imagine better products at their price points. If these don't light your fire in a demo then something's not set up correctly. I have zero doubt that the smaller speakers in the Performa line would be leaders in their price class.
I have a pair of Salon 2's. The speakers are very pure, detailed and revealing. Provided there are quality components upstream, you will hear exactly as the audio was produced. IMHO, the Salon 2's are a bargain for the price. Ncarv provided an excellent assessment too. Bottom line, the Sonus Faber's and Revel Salon 2's are both great choices. I spent nearly half a year listening to the options. If I had to do it again, I would choose the Salon 2's - no question. You must do your homework, listen and enjoy the journey.
Studio 2’s currently reside in my room (14’6" x 24’), driven by Rogue M180 mono blocks, ARC LS27 line stage, Cary 306SACD, VPI AriesIII TT.
Having owned Maggies and Logans for thirty plus years prior, these are the first ’box’ speakers (under 20k) that stirred my soul. With that being said the F208’s might just be the best buy in the Revel line given their 5k msrp and killer sound that they produce.
Another curios discovery for me has been how nicely the F208 sound even near-field.
At the moment I have them stuffed into a very small (9' x 13') room, where I listen quite often within 3' of the speakers while working at a desk at the front of the room. At this position the speakers' dispersion is such that they end up sounding as if I were wearing a pair of big headphones. Very nice! None of the other speakers that I have had in this room have approximated that.
Whereas they obviously flourish when being driven by my big 300wpc amp, they also sound very nice, albeit less gutsy while being powered by a modest amplifier like the old Hafler DH-220.
Research Floyd Toole, Sean Olive, Kevin Voecks all who were/are associated with Harman. Research Harman/JBL and their exhaustive listening tests that they correlate with exhaustive speaker testing. Do this and you will discover the intelligence behind Revel.
What jgandy said. They are both objectively and subjectively (by trained listeners) tested to best the biggest competitors in their price class before being released to market. They are designed to have very flat frequency response and Toole's research showed that "most" people prefer a flatter FR.
I have the M22's and really like them. Upstream components really make a difference with these. I now run a McIntosh MA6500 with them that really brings out the best in them. They do like to be fed some power. I wouldn't sell them to upgrade to the M106's but I would love a pair of the F206's. That would be awesome in my room.
Have the Revel Ultima Studio 1's. IMO you need to couple them with really "musical" components. Run tube CD players into tube pre and big Class A Mono Blocks and they come alive. Run them with too much analytical equipment and they can sound a bit cold and sterile.
Have listened to both Revel F32 and Sonus Luito. F32 are more revealing compared to Luitos with solid state however it depends on quality. F32 tends to be clean with good low end and sound stage. Luitos are more musical but a bad recording will be revealing just not as much. F32 need more power than older Luito (4ohm/single wire). Luito were not as fast More aggressive rock/metal/alt,etc. were not as musical compared to less aggressive music. I have F32s and was going to upgrade to Luito and decided to stay with F32. Decided to add a REL T7 sub to mix which helped with piano dominated music (for example) as well as hip-hop and trip-hop.
Revel F32 Musical Fidelity M6 Ayre QB9 DSD VPI HW19 MKIII - with upgraded acrylic scout platter and inverted bearing. Transparent Ultra MM2 IC and speakers Shunyata Black Mamba CX power cables
Thinking about upgrading my sonus faber cremona auditor m(s) stand mounted for revel reference 1 stand mounts. Good idea or bad idea? If so, why in your opinion? Thanks so much in advance
Revel’s get praise for having such a wide listening area, and they sound pretty good. Listen to them yourself. I would suggest play some horn music as well, sax and trumpets. In the demo I heard I heard things I didn’t like there. You should use your own judgement.
Here is my 2 cents worth.. Over 4 hours today.... Auditioned the Aerial 5T, B&W 805 and the Aerial 6T and Aerial 7t.
The Aerial 5t with and without JL audio e112. First wanted to hear the jazz, female vocal and classical capability. Glad to hear the music without the harsh glaring overtones I sometimes have with my current speakers. All jazz and vocals were sweet. Very nice. Listened to some rock and pop. Still ok just not moved I my seat.
B&W 805's hooked up. Very expensive. Ouch. Not sure what they were thinking with this model.
T6 alone with sub. Much fuller good not harsh treble good bass and miss. 7t is a even tighter bass and more of a good thing. You just need the room for them.
Added the jl audio E112 to the aerial 5T. Now we have music. Perfect jamming Led.Zepplin, Amy Winehouse... Then curteous Sir Neville Mariner .
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