Hey Chas68,
I too used to own the Revel Studios, and I am mostly into Rock, (but not rap or hip-hop though - Sorry, but "Yuck"!) ;-)
(FYI, I also listen to a fair amount of jazz and vocals, as well as a bit of classical.)
The Revel Studios are very good speakers, and while they sound very good in all aspects, they are not great in any one area, IMHO anyway.
I moved on to the EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers.
These are a true full step up from the Studios.
They have deeper bass, which is also very quick, (although I will give the Studios credit for also having quick bass response). One thing I really like is that the Andra II speakers are a sealed design, which means room placement is a bit easier, as I don't have to worry about the port affecting the sound. (Although I still have them pulled into the room a few feet.)
The mid-range seems more natural, especially on vocals, than the Studios were. (Although the Studios were very good in this aspect as well).
The treble response is much more refined than the Studios were. (In fact this was the first thing I noticed when I swapped out the Studios for the Andra II speakers. The Studio's tweeters have fairly well extended treble response, but they seem almost coarse in relation to the Andra II tweeter.) The Dynaudio Isotar tweeter truly is amazing, IMHO!
The soundstaging and imaging are also quite a bit better than the studios. (They disappear from the soundstage about as good as any speaker I know, which includes the Avalon Eidolon and Isis speakers, and the Rockport Antares, although the later two speakers are slightly more refined and have slightly deeper bass response. They are two of my favorite speakers actually.)
Now the caveat: They do seem to have a bit of a mid-bass hump, which means that you'd need to do a bit of room treatment. (I have done a bit of this, and I have tamed it so that it has virtually been eliminated. In fact, it just might be my room that was the problem, but I don't that entirely explains it, to be honest.) And being a rock kind of guy, I don't mind a bit of extra bass response, especially since it is not a boomy or muddy bass reponse.
All in all, I am very happy with the Andra II speakers, and I don't have much of a desire to upgrade. (Especially since it would take a very large amount of money to actually upgrade to the speakers I want, which are the aforementioned Avalon Isis or Rockport Antares.)
FYI: Used the Andra II speakers are running around $9K, which is a pretty good deal, IMHO, considering what you get.
My two cents worth anyway.
Good Luck in your search.
I too used to own the Revel Studios, and I am mostly into Rock, (but not rap or hip-hop though - Sorry, but "Yuck"!) ;-)
(FYI, I also listen to a fair amount of jazz and vocals, as well as a bit of classical.)
The Revel Studios are very good speakers, and while they sound very good in all aspects, they are not great in any one area, IMHO anyway.
I moved on to the EgglestonWorks Andra II speakers.
These are a true full step up from the Studios.
They have deeper bass, which is also very quick, (although I will give the Studios credit for also having quick bass response). One thing I really like is that the Andra II speakers are a sealed design, which means room placement is a bit easier, as I don't have to worry about the port affecting the sound. (Although I still have them pulled into the room a few feet.)
The mid-range seems more natural, especially on vocals, than the Studios were. (Although the Studios were very good in this aspect as well).
The treble response is much more refined than the Studios were. (In fact this was the first thing I noticed when I swapped out the Studios for the Andra II speakers. The Studio's tweeters have fairly well extended treble response, but they seem almost coarse in relation to the Andra II tweeter.) The Dynaudio Isotar tweeter truly is amazing, IMHO!
The soundstaging and imaging are also quite a bit better than the studios. (They disappear from the soundstage about as good as any speaker I know, which includes the Avalon Eidolon and Isis speakers, and the Rockport Antares, although the later two speakers are slightly more refined and have slightly deeper bass response. They are two of my favorite speakers actually.)
Now the caveat: They do seem to have a bit of a mid-bass hump, which means that you'd need to do a bit of room treatment. (I have done a bit of this, and I have tamed it so that it has virtually been eliminated. In fact, it just might be my room that was the problem, but I don't that entirely explains it, to be honest.) And being a rock kind of guy, I don't mind a bit of extra bass response, especially since it is not a boomy or muddy bass reponse.
All in all, I am very happy with the Andra II speakers, and I don't have much of a desire to upgrade. (Especially since it would take a very large amount of money to actually upgrade to the speakers I want, which are the aforementioned Avalon Isis or Rockport Antares.)
FYI: Used the Andra II speakers are running around $9K, which is a pretty good deal, IMHO, considering what you get.
My two cents worth anyway.
Good Luck in your search.