Thinking of Kef Blade 2 to replace Revel Salon 2

@ejlif

Here are some thoughts on the Blade 2s from my encounter with them at the LA Audio Show 2017.

"Please take it for what it is worth:

I heard both the H360 and the Hegel Reference separates - pre/amp/DAC with Blade IIs at the Los Angeles Audio Show. The demo used the H360 and its internal DAC vs. the separates and though there was a difference, I found it fairly small. There was much more of a difference between the Rost, their new integrated, and the H360 and to me the price spread between the two was very worth it. The H360 was able to control the Blades with finesse and sounded great."

I have also heard the big Blades with the Luxman C/M 900 combo . Very smooth sound with vinyl as the source and big soundstaging, though not as lively as I like. And that is of course just my personal preference. I heard them at Excel Audio in Newport Beach. If you are anywhere close, give Mike a call. He is an excellent dealer.

@audiotroy 
The two speakers sound very similar, the Blade 1 is the bigger of the two and has a bigger overall image and more deep bass.

That's interesting, consider the Blade 2s are basically -3db at everything below 50hz, and zero a 20hz, while the Salon's are practically flat all the way down to 20hz

https://www.stereophile.com/content/kef-blade-two-loudspeaker-measurements

https://www.stereophile.com/content/revel-salon-loudspeaker-measurements-2

how do you explain the Blades having more deep bass? (not meant to be accusatory and generally interested in your input, since I have only heard the Salon 2s, and for nowhere long enough for my liking! :) 

I do agree that on paper those measurements do make it seem that the Kef Blades do not go that low, the reality is they do. When you feel the pressure that is being generated by 4 of those bass drivers and the bass is locked into the room the Blades have prodigious low bass with speed and articulation and tremendous kick. 

We were doing ellectronic dance music on a pair of Blades in a 26 by 20 room and it felt like you were right in the club.

Also when we showed them at the 2012 New York Audio Show in the Waldorf the bass was like a giant subwoofer. 

The Blades are designed to work with the room and all of Kef's measurments are convervative. 

Go listen to a pair of Blades and judge for yourself.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ

This thread is a tad old, but thought I would weigh in.  I haven't heard the Blade 2, but I have had the Salon2's for a long time and one of the things that impresses me about the speaker system is how they change with every new upgrade.  I tend to believe the Salon's are very neutral, and yes, as others have commentated revealing. I do find adding a subwoofer helps with the foundation of the music, but that's probably true of most speaker systems.  If you give the Salon's the right amp and good source material, you can't go wrong.  But some audiophiles might opt for different types of tonal response and can go shopping elsewhere. 

The annual revival. lol the salon2 if you have a pair of mc 601’s will boogie, but if you try to drive them with anything less they will sound bass shy. The salon 2 thats 13 years old now is being compared to $5k f208 would beg to ask how important is that last 1%. While i don’t believe listening to a single speaker in an unfamiliar room will tell us any more than how evenly a speaker can spread sound around a room.