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Revel Performa F228 Be speaker... thoughts?

I am considering upgrading my main stereo speakers from my Epos M22’s, and I have been recommended Revel F228 Be’s. Reading about the brand, I am learning Revel is the high end speaker brand of Harman Industries. This retail for about $10,000 a pair but can be gotten at a nice discount. I have read reviews and they are described as great treble, smooth midrange, full range punchy bass, pretty much every $10,000 speaker should have that! They were also named The Absolute Sound speaker of the year in 2019. I am looking to spend about $5 to 6 thousand, roughly for the new speakers.

It would be very helpful if those who have heard these Revel’s would compare them against some of the well discussed and well respected speakers like Harbeths, Vandersteens, Focals, Dynaudios, Devores, ProAcs, Raidhos, Magicos that have similar models at this price. I am a listener of vocals, some pop (more old than new), soul, country, blues, jazz. Not hard rock, punk, electronica or rap. In the past I have been quite impressed by large Harbeths and Vandersteen 3’s in friend's homes, these have a full, strong vocals and bass, but not too sharp a sound in the highs. For domestic purposes, I need to stick to a speaker that fits our home decor, no giant panels or anything too outlandish looking for a multi purpose living area.
troidelover1499
mtrot
804 posts
 
I would certainly take a listen to Focal Kanta 2 and Kanta 3, although you'd likely pay more for the 3's than the Revel F228Be.  Yes, the Revels measure about as well as can be done, but you have to enjoy listening to your speakers.  I think that's where Kanta exels.  They have the IAL3 version of their beryllium tweeter and it exceedingly detailed yet not as "in your face" as some earlier Focal Be tweeters.  With the Kanta, you just want to listen to music. 
james633
1,009 posts
 
The Kanta is a fine speaker I am sure but it will need subs imo. 

You can these the bass drops off hard after 100hz and relies on room gain which can be hard to optimize both soundstage and bass or if you have an odd room. Below 100hz you are listening to the port which might not be as clean. 
https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2090:nrc-meas...


you can also see there is too much energy in the off axis around 5k. Could make toe in/out tricky depending on how narrow your room is.

I like focal as a brand and having owned both Revel and Focal they are somewhat  similar in house sound. What I can say is that in the US the 228be is both much cheaper and measures better. The tweeter is cleaner to my ears too. Keep in mind the comparable Focal is the Sopra 3 not the Kanta. 
mtrot
804 posts
 
@james633 Thanks, great post.  But your link appears to be for the Kanta 1.  And I'm not sure I agree that the comparable Focal is Sopra 3.  But if that is true, the 228Be is a screaming value! 
james633
1,009 posts
 
Mtrot,

thanks for catching my mistake. Try this link below for the Kanta 2. Similar tuning as the drivers drop off around 100hz and a strong port tuning picks up. I have personally found this type (strong port output) of tuning a little hard to place. I bet if you dig you will find people that say the Kanta has lots of bass and others that say it has no bass. Both probably true and room dependent with that type of tuning. 
https://www.stereophile.com/content/focal-kanta-no2-loudspeaker-measurements


The 228be is much larger (volume wise) than the Sopra 2 and closer to the Sopra 3 in both size abs driver layout. The crossover points are almost the same too. I think a lot of the extra weight of the Sopra 3 comes from the glass base. 

The only real negative of the 228be is that it gives up bass extension for efficiency. I run subs with everything but if someone was agents subs they might want to pass on the Revels. But the light bass tuning gives them the ability to play crazy loud with little distortion. I imagine this was done for the home theater crowd. 
Anyway I really like the current Focal line. I just think they are over priced in the US with their recent price increases and I feel that Revel is on the lower end of the price scale making them a good buy if you are not worried about having something fancy and exotic looking. 
mtrot
804 posts
 
@james633 Yeah, I mostly agree with your points, especially that Revel does seem to be biasing their tuning toward the home theater crowd.  I do have an all-around family room setup that is for movies and music.  But my bias would be toward music listening enjoyment more so than home theater prowess. Besides, the Kanta has pretty good dynamics as well, as I understand it.

Also, my family room has a pronounced bass null at the listening position, but I can't really arrange the room any differently.  So, I'm not sure that either the 228 or one of the Kantas is going to be much superior to the other in bass performance in my room.

Another thing I don't care for with the tall F228 is the high tweeter position.  My seated ear height on my sofa is around 33 inches, so I really like how the Kanta tweeter, being below the mid range driver, is right about at my ear height.  Also, my seated distance from the front L/R speakers is only 10 feet, so my ears would be maybe 10-15 degrees below the F228 tweeter.  And I can't back the sofa up any more.

Yeah, Focal ticked me off with their ~25% price increase, but nice used sets of Kanta 2 are popping up in the $6500 range.  Used Kanta 3 seem much more rare and much higher in price.  Incidentally, used F226Be are also showing as low as $5000, but that is a fairly small speaker.

And also, with respect to aesthetics, I do think the Kantas will have a better WAF for me, as my room is our family room.


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