Thoughts about the Magico A3, Revel Salon2/ Studio2

seasdiamond wrote:

Rubinson's high frequency hearing must be pretty limited at this point. I don't see how anyone could think the Salon 2 or F228BE are indistinguishable. The F228BE is a more forward speaker and clearly has more energy above 7k in the off-axis measurements.

I cannot deny that my HF hearing is no longer that of a younger man. 

The issue, however, is that I found them "nearly" indistinguishable under the conditions at Harman where the listener is offered a single seat in front of a single speaker.  The off-axis differences (and other issues) make the differences between the speakers distinct when using a pair of them in stereo.  Yes, the f228Be is more forward and some may prefer that. 

IMO the Revel Salon's treble is magnificent, and even with my hearing now limited to <18khz they sound more extended than most of the competition. If there's a weak point with the Salon's (2's) it's the low sensitivity, and they seem to lack the dynamics of others including B&W and Wilson. 

BUMP, Shopping in the $10k range and found this thread. As to the Harman listening test. I would put more stock in it if I listened in mono. Recent events might have someone skeptical like myself think KR is on the HK staff what with the glowing reviews and recent conversion to the studios in his own home, but it really shows how impressive revel is in their science and results. I don't put any stock on single speaker evaluating because stereo soundstage and imaging is very high on my priorities and I can't evaluate that with a single speaker.
Having heard the salon 2 and f228 be in the same room with the same gear and the salon 2's being demos and only $1500 more thea the f228 be I picked the salon 2. The most notable differences being the salon 2's top end and the way the speakers disappear while the f228be seemed to be working to keep up at higher spl's. Still haven't got to hear the A3, but did get a little time with the contour 60 and the Dan D' gear driving them was impressive, makes me wonder how they would sound with more affordable gear.

@steve59 Didn't you own the Salon2 and the Usher at some point? How would you compare them and why did you sell them? 

i started with the revel f52 then the salon 1, surprisingly a lateral move sonically, then the salon 2 that I would have probably kept if I could have gotten decent bass from, I’ve learned since selling the salon2 that other owners had similar experience that was solved by using 500wpc or more. Without the bass extension the salon2’s sounded a bit clinical after I got used to them and the be20 dmd are more efficient. I bought them to play with and resell but having them highlighted what I wasn’t getting from the salons. Rear ported speakers do better in my room. The ushers had a wide deep but low soundstage that didn’t rise much above the speakers, imaging was sensational though. My salon2 imaged great but not anchored to the sound stage. Hard to explain but i think my bass problems affected the stage...Salons and be 20 dmd’s we’re both exciting and that usher tweeter compared well to my ears. I only sold the ushers to help finance a pair that retail 4 times the price.