Revel F208s vs Cremona M vs B&W 803/804 D

Thanks for the great discussion guys. I have done a fair share of listening to Revels this past week. I auditioned the F208s, the F206s as well as the Salon2s. I think they are all amazing speakers. The only thing if didn't like amongst all three was that they didn't sound musical to me. They would all be top picks if I just cares about HT, but given my main reason purpose is for audio listening, I for now have decided to stay away from Revels. The Revels did sound a bit better using a Levinson amp then a Classe, as you would expect.

I think the JBL 1400 arrays blow away the F208s for music.

But for now, I have decided to audition some Linns as well as some B&Ws before making up my mind.

I will also look into the Tribute and S8 speakers you mentioned.

You say you're looking for "musical." Have you auditioned some Sonus Faber Olympicas or Cremona Ms?

In what way or ways are the Revels not musical for you?

I liked the Cremonas and Olympicas as we'll. Beautiful sounding and looking speakers indeed. The Olympicas are apparently a LOT better, but way out of my budget.

Re: the F208s, when doing an ABA comparison using two separate set ups, both the Linn and B&Ws had a broader and more dynamic mid range and upper range. Guitars, female vocals, etc sounded alive in these speakers compared to the F208s. The F208s seemed to color the music - one guitar demo played like the guitar was playing backseat to the bass and drums. And the vocals sounded machine-like and not real.

The F208s excelled in bass response and quickness. I think they would beat most speakers for high impact home theater sound effects.

But again, for my purpose, for listening to music, instruments, and soundstage, the F208s didn't get me there.

Although they are excellent speakers, for a $5k sticker price, I'd rather by the $3k Linn majiks or a used pair of B&Ws.

Just my personal opinion.

Good response, thanks.