Focal 1038be or Revel Ultima Salon 2?

Agreed with Chrissain that Salon2 can sound full and rich depending on the amps being used.

When I auditioned the Salon2 at a dealer years ago, they used a CJ 140 monoblocks. The voice and instruments had very nice body and richness. However, the bass was not well controlled and the soundstage was very forward. I believe the CJ amps are very good; it just didn't match the Salon2. When they switched the amps to a Spectral amp, the sound really opened up but lacked body.

So choosing the right amp is critical. Don't be cheap on the amps

You guys are wrong about the metal drivers. These speakers do NOT sound metallic. Don't look at drivers and mentally project the sound you expect them to make. Just listen.

The Salon 2 are one of the finest speakers ever made, period. They have extremely little character of their own, and if there is a character it might be of slight euphony.....but very slight. This metallic sound talk is total baloney. It makes me question if you have heard them.

I nice stiff 100 watt solid state amp is the minimum to make them go, 200 watts would be better. Forget cheap tubes, but I have heard good results with 200 watt tube amps.

I can't say they are the best because I will never hear everything but they are the best I have heard. I think only truly exotic speakers will be better. They put a lot of thought and engineering into these speakers and did not just throw money at materials.

I own the Salon2 and don't want to brag about it. Every component has its limit. I heard better speakers but they all cost a lot more. One of my friends has speakers that cost $60k and it is slightly better than the Salon2. For $22k new, it is one hell of a speaker.

It is quite true to the source and highly coherent. You don't hear the drivers at all. It does need good power. You may need to crank it up a bit as the metal drivers are quite stiff.

If you are using 100K tube mono's you would not waste your time with the Salon2 speaker: plastic caps, plastic wires, and magnesium /metal cones.
If you are looking for the fine nuance of vocal and string reproduction and passages in classical that are at times are very low volume level followed by full orchestra these don't work as reference for that..you need a nimble loudspeaker that requires little power and yet can handle a lot of power at the same time this "flexibility" is not inherent in the Revel.

I like the speaker but I'm not putting it with Audio Tekne and Ella Fitzgerald!