Revel F208 Tower Speaker Review

[Dj7675]

Do you have a measurement mic? If yes, please post measurements of your speakers when able. I'm interested in checking out the bass response. Measurements in this review show very anemic bass which seems counter-intiutive given the large speaker size.

It would be an interesting follow up with your in room measurements. The bass discrepancy with the stated specs is a head scratcher for sure.

 

[spacevector]

Sure but I’ve only done a few speaker measurements so far for in-room response. How does one go about measuring up close? Vertical placement and exactly what distance from the drivers?

Point the mic at the center of the woofers - as close as you are comfortable with - max 1 inch.
For the port, just stick the mic in the business end a couple inches.

 

[DonH56]

Just realized I have never measured my Salon2's without bass management engaged. My SDP-75 looks to put them -3 dB around 30 Hz or so in my room but I have a couple of big nulls (room induced) around 30 and 60 Hz so that is interpolating and extrapolating the curves. IOW hard to say for sure...

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Sooner, he's out, the better.

 

[MZKM]

Can the klippel bass measurements be trusted? Seems a lot of floorstanders are measuring poorly sub 100hz

Amir has tweaked it a bit to be more accurate, but it likely isn’t 100%.
He states he measured it in-room, and it better follows his measurements than Harman’s.

 

[Ron Texas]

I'm surprised subs give a big speaker like the F208 such a large boost in it's preference rating. As for the R3 vs F208 discussion, in addition to costing $3000 less, the R3's are easier to move around. It might not seem like much until you try to move a big heavy speaker. I suspect the F208's can reach higher maximum SPL's courtesy of the two 8" drivers. That does not show up in the preference numbers and it's important if your listening space is large.

 

[fitero]

The older I get the more I rely upon younger, stronger hired help. The youngsters get to see and hear gear that they can't afford yet, and I get stuff done that I can't do anymore. Win win.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

The one measure I don't see here is the one NRC of Canada does called "deviation from linearity." It measures the difference of FR in db when the device under test is playing at 70 and 90 db respectively. I think this test is a useful proxy for the dynamic range of the speaker. It could also be expanded to see what the deviation from linearity is when the speaker is playing at, say 80 and 100 db.

 

[Martin Takamine]

I've had the F206 for a year now and those speakers sound really good in the sweet spot and even throughout the house.

 

[Bear123]

The F208 are $5,000 MSRP speakers, which means that are actually $3500ish speakers from a good dealer. And I'm willing to bet they extend well below 30 Hz easily in room(not that it really matters since they should be crossed to subs, of course).

Revel F36 in room:

 

[MZKM]

The one measure I don't see here is the one NRC of Canada does called "deviation from linearity." It measures the difference of FR in db when the device under test is playing at 70 and 90 db respectively. I think this test is a useful proxy for the dynamic range of the speaker. It could also be expanded to see what the deviation from linearity is when the speaker is playing at, say 80 and 100 db.

I suggested this a while back, but the consensus was that in most cases it barely shows any difference, maybe 1-2dB. Also, it can’t be automated (maybe it can be, but it’s an expensive add-on), so it’ll require Amir to dial in those SPLs and run the Klippel, and a full multi-hour sweep and not just on-axis, as it needs all that data to accurately make measurements.

 

[Koeitje]

The R3 cost less than half

Yes, and also is harder to drive (lower sensitivity) and can produce far less maximum SPL. Its not just about frequency response. You have to compare the R3 to the M105 and M106. In a big room the F208 will outperform the R3 with ease. I've got M106's myself and the R3's were also on my shortlist, but I could get the M106 for 400 euro's less (1200 vs 1600 for a pair) so I just went with the Revel option.

I'm surprised subs give a big speaker like the F208 such a large boost in it's preference rating. As for the R3 vs F208 discussion, in addition to costing $3000 less, the R3's are easier to move around. It might not seem like much until you try to move a big heavy speaker. I suspect the F208's can reach higher maximum SPL's courtesy of the two 8" drivers. That does not show up in the preference numbers and it's important if your listening space is large.

Monitor speakers also require more power for the same listening levels, so you run into 2 issues in a large room.

 

[LDKTA]

I’d expect nothing less. The F208s are no joke. Excellent engineering through and through from Revel.

 

[airs]

They’re massive! One speaker unboxed and setup. Taking a break..

 

[typericey]

Happy to see them finally reviewed here. I got to briefly audition them at a local dealer on a noisy room with entry level electronics, but I still loved what I heard. Without subjectively waxing poetic, I loved their scale, clean mids and neutral sound.

Given that I have a growing child, and finite resources, I have this in my (very) short list of grail/end game speakers.

Thanks for the review, Amir.

 

[Koeitje]

Sometimes I have music running while I'm working behind my desk and I'm at like an 85 degree angle from my M106's and its not even as bad as you would expect. Stereo imaging is gone naturally, but tonally its fine for some background music. Better than all the speakers I had prior to these.

 

[airs]

They’re setup and I just listened to my first song. Grinning ear to ear. These things can smack you in the chest, hard. Wow.

 

[BYRTT]

Thanks to Amir another new great review and performer in below animation have traced curves of Amir's analyze and official Revel spinorama and overlaid them onto a same scale:

 

[HammerSandwich]

looking good. any thoughts on the difference between f208 and f206? I really liked the f206 when I demo'd couple months ago.

If Amir's bass results are accurate, you'll get far better value from F206 + subs for the same money.

 

[amirm]

Spin data in the review now.