Revel’s Sound Signature

My auditions in 2011 included both the Paradigm S8s and Revel Salon 2s. To me the Paradigms’ tweeter was way too hot and the Revels ended up in my room and have been there ever since, so no, to me they weren’t remotely comparable.

There were a few other brands in the mix but the competition ended up between the Salon 2s and Wilson Sashas. The Sashas had really good dynamics and punch, but the Revels just sounded right to my ears. 

IMO the Salon 2 is a buy and keep for a long time. It really is an outstanding loudspeaker and can be found used in the 10-12k range. I’ll never forget a Jeff Rowland demo with Salon 2’s that simply blew my socks off. 

When we get to this level all the speakers I had in my home were of excellent resolution and dynamics with differences being more in personal preference as every single speaker is a compromise and there's nothing like having a few pair in your basement listening room at the same time to really get a feel for it. In my system the salon2 was best on better recordings, but took on a metallic edge on the average to poor recordings, as did the kanta 3. The usher be20dmd was my favorite and if I hadn't gotten a deal on my meridians I would have kept them. Very nearly pulled the trigger on the persona 7f with a pathos driving them.

Thank you everyone for your input. It appears that NHT has really faded away from mainstream. Currently I own some Paradigm Studio 100V5’s. Nothing special, but I enjoy them and it is all I can currently afford. They open up decently with a good amp and pre. 

 I haven’t heard a good pair of Revel’s yet, but I am thinking that their top end may be a tad dryer than I prefer. It seems many people prefer speakers that are voiced that way. I tend to lean towards what many consider a tad brighter top end speaker. Not harsh by any means, but not rolled off either. 
I judge how a tweeter should sound from playing my drum kit and jamming in a band. I have a pro level kit and have played for many years and my ears are pretty educated to cymbal sounds. Of course, my ears and brain are like everybody else’s (my opinion) but I do believe that it helps to educate your ears to musical instruments to be able to decipher true live sound. 
Hopefully I will be able to make another step up in my search for audio nirvana with another set of speakers someday. It is just so expensive for the amount of improvement received as you get into the higher levels of equipment. Take care all.