Revel F-30 vs. Dunlavy Cantata vs. b w CDM 9NT

I haven't compared the Catata to the Dunlavy Athena, which share the same drivers and driver arrangement (cross over?) in different cabinets but there is no comparison between the athena an the F-30. The dunlavy have the best soundstage and sence of openness that i have heard yet.Mid range is wonderful and the highs are very smooth, though on certain CDS they can get edgy. Some people think the bass is boomy some think it is anemic. In my room it is tight and powerfull when playing electronic music but can be somewhat lacking on acoustic material...my guess is that the speaker will be limited by the room, they are supposed to be good into the mid 20s. In a properly prepared room the athenas delivered an incredible sence of realism (wish my room was there but WAF rules.) The Dunlavy are a serious sweet spot speaker, you have a very limited area where everything is perfect for serious listening. To my ears the F-30 had piercing highs that i couldn't tolerate for long and they didn't dissapear nearly as well as the dunlavy (the big Revels are nice but i really don't think i'd trade the athenas for them). I auditioned the dunlavy with both a Pass labs 60 watt aleph amp and ARC VT100 and a wadia 850 run direct all synergistic cables great room. I use VTL amp and pre with harmonic tech cables and ARC CD_2 at home. I listened to the F-30 through Mark Levinson 33 amps with a 39 CD run direct, all transparent XL cables.

Hi Blue note,

I was interested in that very thing. I went to AudioReview and read all the reviews on B&W's from 9NT to the Nautilus 803's, then the Dunlavy's, I did not check on the Revel's as there is no dealer here, and no one I know highly recommends them. Stan Warren, of PS Audio/Superphon fame, says that the Dunlavys really need to be zobled to get the most from them, and presumable all speakers should be.

From what I could tell though, people buying B&W, generally speaking, and this is a deduction from post I read, so I could be wrong, but if they bought B&W, most did not listen to Dunlavys. Many buying Dunlavys mentioned listening to B&W…. So, to me the implication seems clear, Dunlavys are better. Not to mention Stan Warren’s being on the Dunlavy band wagon….

Hope this was of help,

Lou

As you will read in my other posts. I am a HUGE Revel F30 fan!!! In the sub $5k range, they are my favorite speaker!
I can't say enough good things about them!! The only other speaker that got me this excited about speakers are the older B&W Matrix 801's (last series)!

Michael

Hi Michael,

So, while the Dunlavy's are hardly sub $5,000.00 have you listened to them?

Thanks,

Lou

Lou,

Unfortunately there are no Dunlavey dealers in Ohio though I have read so many good things about them! Ohio is not the booming capital of Hi-End/HT stereo shops like MA. was where I grew up. If they are they much higher then the other 2 speakers the person asked about, don't you feel they are a little off in their comparison. Almost like asking to compare a Honda (9NT's) to a Lexus (F30's) then to a Porsche (Cantanas).