10-year-old Revel Salon2 ?

[Nicolas]

Congrats on your purchase of the salon 2 speakers. I think with sufficient power they could last you a lifetime.

Thank you.
Each has its own benchmark ahb2, no issue there.

 

[steve59]

Studio2, not Salon2.

Ok. I don't have a problem with the salon 2 speakers and I was being snarky attempting to use the hk dbt to undermine revels own test. If you say it was the studio2 not the salon 2 it does explain why revel discontinued the model. Buying the salon 2 isn't a slam dunk to great sound by any means, they're still prone to the same factors like placement, boundary's, source components and room size. If we're not going to build a system around our speakers I think stepping up to $20k pair from any passive brand is leaving good money on the table.

 

[sarumbear]

Ok. I don't have a problem with the salon 2 speakers and I was being snarky attempting to use the hk dbt to undermine revels own test. If you say it was the studio2 not the salon 2 it does explain why revel discontinued the model.

Who says it’s discontinued?

Studio2 | Ultima2 Loudspeaker Series, 3-Way Floorstanding Loudspeaker

Similar to the Salon2 in a more discreet package, the Ultima Studio2 features all of Revel’s latest technological innovations and enhancements with an elegant appearance and unparalleled sound quality.

www.revelspeakers.com

 

[steve59]

I read the studio was being dropped somewhere, but I just looked on their website and they're still listed?

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Who says it’s discontinued?

I read the studio was being dropped somewhere, but I just looked on their website and they're still listed?

AFAIK, the Studio2s have been discontinued and out-of-stock for some time now and, to my knowledge, there was one additional production run of Salon2 shortly after the discontinuance of the Studio2s.

 

[sprellemannen]

AFAIK, the Studio2s have been discontinued and out-of-stock for some time now and, to my knowledge, there was one additional production run of Salon2 shortly after the discontinuance of the Studio2s.

If so it is surprising that the Studio2s are still on Revel's site (as not discontinued), but I am not saying you are wrong.
Any idea of how many Salon2's and Studio2's Revel has ever sold (pairs of each) ? How many each year?

 

[blueone]

AFAIK, the Studio2s have been discontinued and out-of-stock for some time now and, to my knowledge, there was one additional production run of Salon2 shortly after the discontinuance of the Studio2s.

The evidence supports your view. ListenUp, a large multi-state audio-video dealer here in the US, says the Studio2 is "out of stock":

studio-2-ultima2-loudspeaker-series-3-way-floorstanding-loudspeaker

And Music Direct, a large mail-order house in Chicago, says the Studio2 is "no longer available for purchase".

Revel - Studio2 Tower Speakers (Pair)

www.musicdirect.com

 

[sarumbear]

Same as me
View attachment 213046

Ditto

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

FWIW, although the Revel Salon2 is among the best passive speakers money can buy, I still think active monitors like the Dutch&Dutch 8C have it beat. An active design allows the monitor to do things that are simply impossible with passive components.

If I had $10k to spend that is what I'd be looking at.

 

[sarumbear]

FWIW, although the Revel Salon2 is among the best passive speakers money can buy, I still think active monitors like the Dutch&Dutch 8C have it beat. An active design allows the monitor to do things that are simply impossible with passive components.

If I had $10k to spend that is what I'd be looking at.

I have also tried D&D 8C but sent it back. Too timid compared to my revels authority.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

I have also tried D&D 8C but sent it back. Too timid compared to my revels authority.

Fair enough. The Salon2 is certainly the more capable speaker in terms of output and bass, at least when you give them the necessary amplification. That is the 8C's biggest weakness.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

I saw that, and commented.

Just a little hard to believe a company with aspirations to be anything other than just ordinary would be so short sighted to not provide spare parts for loudspeakers that cost as much as they do.

I'm disgusted with the anecdotes in relation to the lack of spare parts these days. But it's all changing, back to the way it was.

In the meantime, anyone buying should get a guarantee in writing ensuring reasonable access to an ongoing availability of replacement parts. Just like the auto industry.

This is why I do not even want to audition Revel speaker. Though a pair of Salon 2s are beyond my budget and living space, other models in the line certainly are not, but I won't even consider them based on their lack of support.

 

[jhaider]

If so it is surprising that the Studio2s are still on Revel's site (as not discontinued), but I am not saying you are wrong.

Gem2 is still on the site but EOL as well. Last I checked Harman had a single black one in inventory.

 

[nerdoldnerdith]

Why the sarcasm? And why are there so many people here hostile to the notion that we can judge loudspeakers by listening to them? I know what I am doing when I listen to an audio system. I know what good sound is.

Revel has never published a double-blind test in which one of their other speakers bested the Salon2. Kevin Voeks, the marketing guy for Revel, said that the F328Be is better in some respects, but there is no evidence that it is a better speaker overall in terms of listener preference. He has an incentive to upsell the F328Be given that the Salon2 is being discontinued because it is no longer profitable to produce.

Revel would not have gone through all the effort to design a cost-no-object speaker like the Salon2 with expensive design elements like a hand-sculpted baffle if such a design could be beaten by something designed to fit within a budget like the F328Be.

I just want to correct this post since there appears to be no way to edit it. I meant to say Jim Garret, not Kevin Voeks. Kevin is the engineer for the Salon2.

 

[Lsc]

I just want to correct this post since there appears to be no way to edit it. I meant to say Jim Garret, not Kevin Voeks. Kevin is the engineer for the Salon2.

We Ask 10 Questions For High-End Audio Manufacturers Featuring Mark Glazer, Harman Luxury Audio Group

We Ask 10 Questions For High-End Audio Manufacturers Featuring Mark Glazer, Harman Luxury Audio Group

www.enjoythemusic.com

 

[sarumbear]

Gem2 is still on the site but EOL as well. Last I checked Harman had a single black one in inventory.

How can you see their inventory?

 

[jhaider]

How can you see their inventory?

By being interested in buying a pair and asking a dealer.

(I did end up buying a pair but not new because there wasn’t a new mahogany pair, or a pair period, available. They did at the time still have some Gem2 pedestals, and I think table stands too, available.)

 

[restorer-john]

I'm afraid the phrase "consumer goods" explains the issue. We are expected to "consume" those goods as fast as possible so that we buy new ones...

Maybe I'm just an idealist when it comes to quality, longevity, reliability and fitness for purpose.

Engineers like Ivar Jepson of Chicago Flexible Shaft Company, later to become Sunbeam. His products were designed to never fail, never wear out, or become obsolete. The Sunbeam Mixmaster is a shining example. Products that were handed from generation to generation and inspired brand loyalty and reverence unlike anything today.

Back when people were throwing out grandma's Mixmasters, I picked them up, restored them and used them. They live on, as perfect as the day they were made, over 55 years ago.

Everytime I use my 1966 Sunbeam A-12B Mixmaster to whip potatoes or make something, I am indebted to the engineer who produced such a perfect product. Stand mixers come and go, even Kenneth Wood's original and evolved Chefs or the KitchenAid don't last long in my kitchen. They are nasty, agricultural and brutal. Try carrying on a conversation while using some of those horror appliances.

It's the same with quality HiFi. 30 years is nothing. Perfect performance, both functionally and measureably after 3-4 decades.

Who cares what such quality costs initially, as you are saving the earth's resources, energy, waste and your money. A piece of cheap Asian HiFi that fails in a few years is BAD economics. It's bad for the earth. It's a bad example to be setting for the next generation. I've spent decades fixing the unfixable, saving the earth from stuff that has prematurely failed. I wouldn't touch cheap HiFi with a barge pole. The average ASR member is buying this garbage hand over fist, based on reviews that tell ZERO about longevity, quality or suitability. It's irresponsible IMO.

 

[sarumbear]

Maybe I'm just an idealist when it comes to quality, longevity, reliability and fitness for purpose.

I think you and I are simply getting old

The society has changed dramatically in the last half century and started to accept low quality, which is an artefact of fast development. There is nothing anyone can do other than a few who has long memories (like you and I) are "pining for the fjords."