Revel Studio vs. JM Lab Micro BE

I find it hard to understand your motivation. (The dealer's motivation is a given.) What is it about the system performance that you find lacking? What would you hope to gain from the smaller JMLabs?

My immediate thought is that you might want more power from a heftier amp but, without knowledge of the rest of the room/setup, I am guessing.

I have the Studios as well, and really, really like them.
However, I use a Mark Levinson No. 23 amp (SS with 200W/ch.) The additional power really helps open up the sound, especially in the bass.

It seems to me that you are going to have to make a decision, to either switch out the Studios (which are a bit power hungry), or switch to a more powerful amp (and since you currently use an integrated amp, that might mean switching to seperate preamp and amp).

My advice would be to ask your dealer to lend you a more powerful amp (if you have a preout on your BAT, you won't need to borrow a preamp). Then make the decision on whether that is the sound you are going for. (It is typically easier to get lent amps and/or preamps from your dealer, than speakers. If you are going to buy new, the dealer should be willing to help you out.)

As far Sgr's recommendation to use Adcom, I am not sure about that, as I think the quality of Adcom is below that of both the BAT and the Studios. (However, I have not seriously heard Adcom for quite a few years. If Sgr says they have improved in quality in the last 5 or 10 years, then this might be a good avenue to explore, as they are less expensive. I would recommend any of the better and more powerful SS units (ie. Levinson, Krell, Rowland, etc..)

My two cents worth, anyway. Good Luck!

Some comments about the Adcom 5805 paired with the Revel Studios appear in my review of the Adcom in the March 2004 Stereophile.

I haven't heard the Adcom amp recently, but I believe there have been several mentions of this combination maybe by Kal Rubinson in Stereophile. I based my recomendations on 1. a need for more power, 2. It seems money is an issue, 3. I owned the Adcom 750 preamp for a while it sounds great, 4.You could probably pick up the Adcom units or similar quality amps on Audiogon and greatly improve your system.
Perhaps your BAT has preamp outputs so you could add another amp (maybe even a BAT) and get your speakers to sound like they can.

The JM Labs BE are a great speaker line but the two times I heard them with BAT amps I was very disappointed. This doesn't mean that no BAT amps will work but the JM Lab speaker need the right amps to shine (the Burmesters sound great with them). Though, overall, I like the Altos and Novas more than the Studios, I would find moving from the Studios to the Micros a step down particularly in the bass department. The Studios are great speakers, don't give up on them but get them some good SS power like the Parasound JC1s or even the Tact amps which I heard with the Studios and sounded great.