Revel Salon 2 vrs Kef 207/2

I have not heard the Salon 2 but in January of this year we bought a pair of 207.2 (with a 10% dealer discount : thank you Michael) and have been delighted with them in every way. This is the first pair of speakers I have had that I no longer think about. Every recording sounds at least acceptable and usually wonderfully natural and true, I surmise, to the producers and performers intentions. The mid range and treble are smoothly transparent and never harsh or edgy. The bass is always there and overwhelming when the recording demands it.
I had a chance to buy a pair of Sophias at the same time. They were second hand but immaculate and were brought to my attention by Martin Colloms. They would have worked out cheaper than the KEFs by about £K2. Unfortunately their finish was typical Wilson automobile in a Mercedes silver. We couldn't reconcile ourselves to something so out of character with our room although I suppose they looked like giant versions of our MF amps !

We took a lot of advice before deciding. Martin Colloms said the Sophias were his favourites at that price which is quite a recommendation. John Atkinson recommended the KEFs over the Wilsons and of course Stereophile had already made them speaker of the year.

Our helpful dealer (Lyric Hi-Fi Belfast) arranged a home trial and we listened exhaustively post Christmas. There was no doubt they were keepers. We had tried a number of speakers at home including Quads and Tannoy Canterbury's but these were so listenable with all material and at all volumes. They had some of the natural transparency of the Quads but with a much better overall balance. Bass was all there but never booming. It is a cliche but they totally disappeared leaving a natural sound stage with depth and width.

After so many trials and disappointments it was like coming home. We ordered a pair and during the wait for the matt walnut finish we wanted Lyric left the trial pair with us.

Now nine months on we know we have made the right choice and would recommend them to anyone. I still wish I could have heard the Sophias but that was not to be. Its difficult to imagine how they could be better.

Of course I haven't heard the Revels either but that would be almost impossible to arrange and again I dont know how I'd expect them to be better than the KEFs.

Apart from the Stereophile review the KEFs seem under-reviewed which is surprising although there is one due in Hi Fi News I think. A review in 'What HiFi' didnt like them but what do they know?

If you are in the market at this price I would say you must try them.

I am using MF KW Preamp and Amp single amped through Transparent cable with CD/SACD from Marantz SA7ST with Van den Hul First and Second interconnects.

I have lived with many speakers through my years of pouring my savings to upgrading my systems, but nothing, I mean nothing has satisfied me more than the sound that the new Kef 207/2 makes. I have lived with Wilson WP 7, Thiel 3.7, Dynaudio c4, Harbeth SHL5, B&W Nautilus, ATC 50 or whatever and so on..They were all respectful speakers, but always, something seemed to fall short. My last audition before choosing the KEF 207.2 was between Salon 2 and KEF 207.2, because both of them were so highly reviewed by Stereophile and TAS. In end, I felt they were both extremely superior speakers at their price points, but KEF 207.2 excels above Salon 2 on several points. They go very very loud without ever getting irritating or loosing balance. Also the mids which almost accounts for over 80% of the music we listen to, KEF is so much more smooth and natural while being as transparent, detailed as you would want them to be. Top to bottom, nothing irritates you, and the highs on KEF is truly "high-end" high, being able to go extreme without ever getting edgy. Finally, the body of instrument has real weight and heft true to real sound and never will sound thin, which may happen to such detailed and trasparent speakers. To sum up, super balanced with finesse. You will find Revel Salon 2 superior in it's own right, but for years of listening to many different types of music, most likely you will be better off with KEF 207.2. However the taste of music is down to each individual and you would eventually have to audition with your own ears.
In these days where some speakers are reaching well over 100k, I think KEF 207.2 is well positioned and more people will appreciate the high value of these speakers when they hear what these speakers can deliver. In my country I am blessed with options to audition many high-end speakers in one location..unfortunately I have lived in US and I know that option is not readily there. I hope you can audtion them close by to where you live, then you would know where I am coming from. They will prove shortcut to getting to audio bliss without wasting $$$ upgrading and changing systems to match to your need. ;-)

While I find the previous post thoughful and well reasoned, my thoughts are slightly different. Once you start looking at speakers at this level your room and equipment take on greater and greater significance. Dealer demos are next to worthless as a tool to determine long term satisfaction. Only after you've heard the speakers in your room with your stuff LONG TERM can one be sure. Even small changes in placement can have a big impact on the ultimate result, the best placement can take some time to find.

Both the KEF and the Revel are world class speakers. I don't think anyone can say with absolute percision one is materially superior. Personal preferance on sound priorities along with associated equipment and the environment are variables that make comparing speakers at this level difficult at best. What I find interesting is the description of the strong points of the KEF match almost exactly what I'd use to describe by Studio 2's.

One speaker worth shortlisting that is priced at $21K right between sasha and kef is the Verity Audio Parsifal Ovation. I replaced my Revel Studio's with the Parsifal Encore's. If you're listening to smaller acoustic smaller ensembles this speaker is hard to beat with true "midrange magic". They are also the smallest footprint of any true high end speaker I have ever come across. On the downside of the small size factor is they raise the question what on earth justifies their pricetag, but based on sound quality they are very competitive in its priceclass.

Stereophile reveiwed both . Kef feb 08 ... Salon june 08 ... They were both very well liked , and tied for speaker of the year . Iv'e heard both and refer the Salons . Although I'm biased as I own the Salon 1s, and would not part with them for anything .