Revel Salon 2 versus WP 8

Elberoth2- I'm not a bit surprised by Jkalmans bass problems. I too have a Rives room and have been fighting a huge 80hz bump even after adding (rather, knocking out a finished wall and building) a large Helmholz resonator. After parading a number of different speakers from active to single driver, the bump is persistant, albeit the magnitude varies slightly. A wholly disenchanting experience.

To sum up my experiences:

The W/P8 vocals sound more open and natural, while the Salon2 bass sounds more balanced and natural (with the compression setting in the middle setting). The treble on the W/P8 is a little more lively sounding.

I expected more of a clear choice, but instead both speakers have strengths and weaknesses. I wasn't sure which one I would like better, but I really thought it would be cut and dry either way. It just isn't. :(

Since the choice isn't cut and dry for me, I'll probably base my decision on what will work best in my HT situation... :D

Having the built in treble controls and boundary compression controls is a definite advantage for the Revels if someone is looking for out-of-the-box, quick-and-easy EQ. There is no denying that. Both are excellent sounding speakers, so I don't think someone can go wrong with either one.

That the W/P8 has a little bit of extra boom in the 70-80Hz range that happens to coincide with a room mode in my setup is an issue (someone people like that extra boom, I don't, as mentioned previously in this thread), and one that might come to play in the decision. The other issue in consideration is that I am going to be putting a third large speaker behind an acoustically transparent screen as a center channel. Having a built in treble control, while not an absolute solution to the roll-off this kind of situation can cause, is a boon.

Anyone see those Magico Stereophile measurements? I was expecting them to be A LOT better considering all the hype some folks have been spreading around these fora hand-in-hand with insults concerning how other speakers measure graph wise...

Let’s see, A speaker that is -/+ 3 db flat anechoic from 40 Hz to 40K. A bass response in room down to 20 Hz with 88 db efficiency in sealed box!! No resonant box modes to be found. A 4 ohm nominal around the entire power region and a superbly clean spectral-decay plot. What exactly more do you want? A Wilson tag name?

Jeff,
Fully agree with you regarding Magico review(and JA measurements).
I had a chance to audition them in Milan 2007 Hifi Show and I start wondering what that fuzz is all about... They did not impressed me at all.