Warning for Revel lovers
I have read these forums for some years, and have never contributed, but feel I really must let people in on what is happening at Revel. I ordered a pair of Salon2's in March '21 through the great folks down at USA Tube Audio in Scottsdale, who I can unreservedly recommend for excellent customer service. After ordering the Salons, Revel estimated their delivery at the end of April. When that date approached the delivery was changed to end of June. Then it was changed to August, then November, then February. '22. Just found out the new delivery date. It is August '22. Well, you might say, this is supply chain, pandemic related. Read on. During my year-long wait, Paul and Charlie down at USA Tube several times tried to find out what the story was for the delays. I also wrote to Revel to try to get updates; I had sent them 50% down to reserve the speakers. The most either I or USA Tube received back was a one or two terse sentences which shed no light on what the issues were effecting delivery targets. During this time, I sent some equipment in to Audio Research for factory restoration. It took them 6 months to get the job done, but they were excellent at keeping me in the loop, and I always knew when to expect them to finish the job. Just last week I canceled my order to Revel. I will receive a refund, but there was not one word from them apologizing or attempting to explain what happened. I have since ordered a pair of Aspen FR30's from PS Audio, and have already been contacted by them several times for updates and videos of in home installations. Anyway, they are delivering the first couple of pallets as I write this, and somehow are able to honor their commitments to their customers. Though I will have to wait for mine, I have high confidence they will arrive at my house when Paul and company say they will.
The point of my ramble is that the high end community is rather small, with many excellent companies competing for for business within it. It is sad to note that one of the absolute best, Revel, is now under the corporate umbrella of Harmon, which is under the corporate umbrella of Samsung. They have not been represented at the last two T.H.E. shows in Long Beach, home state for Revel. They sent me an email back in January, announcing a change in their management, along with no information on the status of my speakers. They appear to have had no interest in keeping a buyer of their flagship product either happy or informed, for an entire year. I am not a wealthy man. I've been trading and buying audio products for almost 40 years, and was excited to lay down a large commitment in capital for some amazing speakers. I am assuming that sometime in the recent past Revel, after having been absorbed by its corporate overlords, was "restructured" (read gutted), and is not currently equipped to supply a quality product to discerning audiophiles. It also appears that the parent company is content mass-marketing cell phones and "speakers that rock", but sound the same whether playing MP3, CD quality, or high rez. If anyone out there is thinking of sinking a bunch of money into a high end speaker, Caveat emptor! P.S. I own a pair of original Salons, and have always enjoyed Revel's products. Very sad
Never enjoyed Revel, but sorry to hear about your experience. I think that most manufacturers can do with better communications. I will say the brand that I find extremely good at communicating is Classe. Regular updates on orders, and great feedback loop.
I am personally waiting on my next Audiovectors that I ordered first week of February. I hope I don’t have your issues! |
Thanks for the feedback. This is what is extraordinary about our hobby. I am definitely a glutton for punishment when it comes to purchasing items that are very hard to explain to most people, but I have reasons for picking the FR30’s. Paul, at PS Audio has a history of working with Arnie Nudell of Infinity IRS fame (I’ve owned a pair of RS 2.5’s), and after leaving a previous iteration of PS Audio, started Genesis, which has made some outstanding speakers. I still have one of their powered subwoofers. Nudell was involved in designing the FR30’s until his death in 2017. At any rate, the FR30’s can be returned with free shipping if they are not what I want. I used to have an HCA 2, and currently stream thru a PS Audio DSD Dac w/bridge; I like their products, as well as their excellent customer service. By the way, in one of the few emails Revel sent me, they insisted the Salon 2’s are still being manufactured. Would have been really stoked to have gotten some. |
@bratscheboy Did you know that the Salon’s were being discontinued when you ordered them? If so, I find it a bit strange that Revel would be still building new stock on a discontinued line. Those PS Audio speakers look interesting. BTW - I had Revel 1 long ago. The best bass I ever had in my home, but those damn tweeters kept blowing up on me.
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Another issue with Revel. I wanted to replace an upper mid driver a few years back; they were not available as NOS. Planned obsolescence? I had to cannibalize an ultima center channel. The main reason for replacing the Salons is the tweeters, which are a bit impolite on classical stuff. The beryllium units on the 2’s are much better, I am told. I asked about the reports of being discontinued when I ordered the 2’s. Was told they were not being discontinued or replaced in the near future. Now I’m not sure what the real story is. |
