2. speakers
  3. 1095305674

Revel Salons - Do they really sound like this?

I've been entertaining the idea of a speaker change lately. Not that I'm unhappy with my system. I just thought I might try something new for a change. Lots of people rave about the Revels so I went to my local dealer to hear the Salons. Associated equipment were 2 Levinson 436 monos, the latest Hovland preamp, and the new Ayre cd player. Transparent reference cables throughout. This audition turned out to be a big letdown. Im not trying to bash the speakers, I'm just looking for a little insight. The room was about 35X20. The speakers were set up parallel with the long wall. They were about 10ft in from the back wall and 5ft from the sidewalls with no toe-in. I was sitting back about 8ft centered perfectly and there were large acoustic panels on every wall across the room spaced about 2 ft apart. There were no defined images, the sound seemed to come from all over the room. The mid and high frequencies were very laid back which was non-fatiguing but to such an extreme that it was almost lifeless. I couldn't make out details on music that I was familiar with, it was almost as if there was a veil over the sound, and the bass wasn't that great either. Im thinking for 17 large, there must be something wrong with the setup. I use Dunlavys with Pass gear and the imaging is pinpoint. I can hear a vocalist take a breath. I can even hear Daina Kralls lips come apart before she starts to sing. I figured I would try and explain what I wasn't hearing to the sales rep so he could mabye change something and he looks at me and says, "Have you had your ears checked recently." I was absolutely floored. I did bite my tongue however and left quietly with a poor opinion of the salesman and the speakers. I came home and thought I might ask the fellow goners their opinion of the Revel Salons.
cmpromo
audiogoon
68 posts
 
I've heard the Salons set up properly and they were sterile and unimpressive in my session as well. Your experience seems even worse than what i had heard and I'd guess that they were setup out of phase. Telltale signs: no bass, images were unnaturally diffuse. That salesperson sounds like he's the one needing the hearing aid!
rsa's avatar
rsa
114 posts
 
I was not sure if I was going to respond as I do not know alot about the technical part of Hi-Fi. I have the Revel Salons connected to a Classe Omega Amp using MIT Oracle speaker cables. I am also using a Audio Research REF II pre-amp, a Theta Jade Transport, an Genesis Gen V DAC & Digital
Lens w/2 PS Audio P 300's. I find the sound to be "GREAT", but I did notice alot of difference when I listened to them at 2 different places. I dont know alot about the equipment you stated but to say that the Salon's were lifeless just knocks me over. I have always liked a speaker that was considered "forward" such as Thiel (I had the 2.3's,the MCS 1's,the CS6 and the 7's)and I consider the Salons to be one of the best speakers at there price range. If at all possable I would try to listen to them somewhere else if possable. I know this is not alot of help, but I have heard alot of speakers one time and thought them poor and then I listened to them again in a different set up and it was nite and day. I dont work for Revel but If you decide to go with them drop me a line. I bought mine at a Very Good Price!
Good Luck!
vinylphile7873
14 posts
 
When you have better gear, you get better results. You have much better gear and the results speak for themselves. Trust your ears. They've gotten you this far. Much further than hype and reviews will get you.
ksales
228 posts
 
I have the studios and also demo'd the salons. What you describe is not consist with the incredible sound stage I experience. However in demoing the revels at the various locations on occasion I did replicate the experince of cmpromo.
His description could be caused by many factors. In one setting
the studios were set up with Levinson 336s and it sounded muddy and uninspiring. I asked the guy at the store what the problem was and he admitted that both the speakers and amps were new with very little breakin time. This is critical. With my set up
it took a considerable period to properly breakin my amps and I hated them until that magic moment. The speakers also require a certain breakin. Also the room acoustics interconnects ect. also contribute. Unfortunately dealers don't always do justice to the equipment. I love the revels and find them similar to thiels with more mid range and a warmer soundstage.
sgr's avatar
sgr
689 posts
 
First I'd like to say it sounds like you have a very nice setup at home with the Pass and Dunlavys that would be the envy of many, and I'd love to hear it.
I own Salons with 436 amps and am continually amazed by the sound. Each time I upgrade my equipment I find new levels of information. One thing I've noticed though (and I believe this is the reason some people come away from auditioning the Salons unimpressed)is that the Salons are like chameleons taking on the characteristics of the setup, recording, and associated equipment perhaps more so than other speakers I've auditioned. I can't fault the amps, but one of my suspects in your case are the Transparent cables. I've audtioned them several times using their Reference series digitals, power cords, speaker cables, and interconnects, with both SOTA Krell gear and Levinson and came away with many of the caveats you described. I've found both Synergistic and the Chris Ven Haus cables to be a much better match with my gear.
I've also found that one has to be very careful with the acoustics in the room. I've spent hours tweaking my room with Auralex and Room Lenses.
The 436s like lots of AC current and won't sound their best without a direct dedicated line to each amp. Something that I don't believe many dealers supply.
As for the Hoveland and Ayre equipment, I can't comment on the sound quality, as I've never auditioned it but it does have a good reputation and is definitely admirable. Perhaps it was not the best choice for this setup, althougth you would think the dealer would know which in store components would make a system like that shine.
Several of my friends and I have found that as you attempt to get the best out of high end equipment, you have to spend hour of time audtioning, tweaking, and finding out what conditions this caliber equipment wants to sound the best. It is easy to just make the connections, crank the system up, and be prepared to be blown away. But with equipment of this caliber (and I would include your home system) to get the sound SOTA equipment can provide can take hours of effort.
More to discover