2. speakers
  3. 155032-131752

Revel F328Be's Have Arrived! / Contradicting Specs?

Well I'm only about 8 hours in with my new Revel F328Be's & I am enjoying them & they are flat out awesome. They are replacing a pair of KEF R11's in my main system which I will be moving to another system as I still think the R11's are fantastic performers. That said, the new F328Be is in another league right out of the box. More finesse, more muscle, more detail than the R11 which I think will even widen as the Revel's continue to break in. And I wish we could post pictures here because I was floored by how they arrived...they come in a heavy duty flight road case, one for each speaker with custom lettering outlining the Revel F328Be. Each case & speaker weighs over 200lbs so when the 19 year old delivery service kid showed up with no dolly, ramp or even a box cutter to unwrap the cases I knew I would be helping to get these in the house.
On a side note, I know these speakers are brand new but Revel does appear to have some contradicting specs that has left me wondering what the true specs are? For example...
-The Revel site has not yet published the frequency range for the F328 so I asked several dealers & they both came back & said the Revel rep said 26Hz - 40khz at -6db. However the manual that came with the speakers states 32Hz - 40khz at -6db? Per the manual it also states the low-frequency extension is 25Hz (-10db); 32Hz (-6db); 44Hz (-3db)
-There is also a discrepancy with the weight of the speaker...the site says 90 lbs. but the manual lists each speaker at 112 lbs which I find much more accurate after moving them around yesterday.
-The speaker dimensions are also off between the site & the manual...the Revel site lists it as 13.5" wide & the manual states 11.83". And depth on the site is listed at 17.6" while the manual states 16.56". (both the site & the manual list these measurements with grille included).
Just thought I would get this info out so you can keep it in mind if you are considering the F328Be. I want to also publicly thank Jay O'Hanlon from XTend Technologies in Cleveland for his outstanding service & assistance, I would highly recommend Jay & XTend. Thanks
spookyfoot
cd318
2,636 posts
 
@dreas,

Now if any speakers are going to help you escape that nagging feeling that there's something wrong with your sound, or that something about it could be better, it's those Revel 328s.

I've been listening to headphones a lot recently and when I sat down to listen to my Tannoys I was a little surprised at their bass overhang on certain tracks. Time for more experimenting with positioning I think. Now where's those Marley CDs?

Of course no speaker is perfect and I'm still struggling to get kenjit's words out of my head, namely that the KEF Blades would be acceptable for background music only.

Now the Revels vs the Blades could be a good head to head matchup.
james633
1,052 posts
 
Little bit of an old thread but I plan to demo the 328be in the next few weeks (also at Xtend).
I am really only interested in the 228be and would be running them off a McIntosh MC462 with two JL E112s subs high pass at most likely 60hz. I have not found a speaker that does better than the subs 60hz and down. I also like the tuning flexibility.
I see that there are some differences in the tweeters among other things between the 228be and 328be. For those that have heard both how do they compare from say 60hz up? Is the extra cost of the 328be more noticeable than just the bass?
I see some Kef talk too. I demoed the Reference 3 a couple of times and they did not connect with me. The highs were average, the bass felt kind of one note maybe due too strong of a port turning. But my main issue is they lacked dynamic in the mids. They just had no mid range snap/punch. I have heard the Salon Ultima 2 a number of times and they outclassed the Kefs in all aspects and blew the Kefs out of the water in the highs. The Salons have some of the cleanest highs I have heard without any edginess (looking at you focal...).  I am hoping the 228be brings the mids and highs of the Salons at a cheaper price.
I imagine the people that don’t like Revels don’t care for the flat bass. Probably my original issue to but these days I tune my bass to taste with subs anyway.

cd318
2,636 posts
 
@james633 

"I have not found a speaker that does better than the subs 60hz and down."


I bet no one else has either.

Most speakers, if they actually go that low (flat to 40Hz or lower) will, to some extent or another, tend to blur that critical area into a kind of a mush.

The good ones will still let you hear that old adage that 'bass can play tunes'.

I've never yet owned a speaker that did bass really well. Merely adequate.

Anyway, there's a good New Record Day video of the 226BEs against a few of its rivals here.

I intend to check it out more closely over headphones later myself, but it sounded ok on a quick listen before work this morning.

Spatial Sapphires/X5s, Q Acoustics Concept 500s, Klipsch Heresy

https://youtu.be/yUVfZeUEz_w
james633
1,052 posts
 
Ok thanks for the video I missed that one, I will watch it in a bit. 
I ended up demoing the 328be tonight on a McIntosh MC462 and C49 preamp. 
First track I pulled up was Chris Jones “No Sanctuary” and I thought wow sounds like there is a sub on... and there was lol. Turned it off and it still had pretty solid bass, textured and deeper than the specs would lead you to believe. 
The room/setup (too small, too much toe in) left something to be desired but I still got a good feel for them. 

I would say this speaker really has no faults and not just for the price, really. They are very clean sounding. At one point my ears felt a hair tired and I pulled up a DB meter on a phone app and I was at 95db average for a minute with peaks over 100! I could not believe it. I am an 80db listener and they did not seem too loud or strained. Just proves to me just how clean these speakers played. I turned it down to about 85 and continued. 

The highs are as good as anything I have heard. I would go as far as to say the best but hard to say without direct comparison. I also feel the Mac preamp might have softened the highs as they almost seem to roll off smoothly. 
The mids are very clean too, nothing but the facts type of sound. 
All in all these are winners for sure. I think without subs the tuning might be a little flat for me but with subs high passed and tuned to taste I will really like them. 
I also listen to the Kef R3 recently. The 328be for the same price more or less is in a whole other class of speaker. Cleaner more detailed highs (from memory...) more dynamic mids and more texture in the bass. The bass was tuned flatter on the Revels at least in the rooms and setups I heard so take the bass comments with a grain of salt. 
I think I will buy a pair of 228be (unless I end up with used Wilsons... just always wanted a pair, no logic in it lol). I just bought an amp and need to recover a few months so maybe late summer. 
My only real complaint of the 328be is that it is too tall and the tweeter is too high. They sounded better if I sat up straight (I am 6’) and the 228be should solve that. 
spookyfoot OP
18 posts
 
James633, I am also running a Mac amp (MA8900) with my 328Be's. I think Mac is a great pairing with the Revels. I've had the 328Be's for just over a year now & they are truly a special speaker. I have them in a pretty large room (26' x 13') with a 22' vaulted ceiling and they can flood the whole room with deep bass. That said I like to take advantage of the EQ on the MA8900 and I keep the lower frequencies bumped just a smidge for just a little extra punch. And yes I agree about the highs, the 328Be's are super smooth on top. Hope you land on one of the Revels, I don't think you could be wanting for anything more with any of the Performa Be series, just need to try and match up the right series based on your room size & gear. All The Best!
More to discover