Have decided on Revel Ultima Salon 2_Questions

[sneabs]

I have been looking at different options for replacing my mains and I am heavily leaning towards these unless the Arendal 1528’s surpass them.

How old is too old when it comes to speakers, these are very expensive and this makes me nervous. How much of a risk is it to buy a used pair and for something to wrong with them?

 

[MKR]

So far the after sale support by Revel seems good based upon the experiences I have read about on the various forums, but how long will that last? Who knows. I passed on new Salon 2s many months ago (the last production run) as I just wasn't willing to take the risk of having a $12k paperweight.

 

[Chrispy]

Might want to look into replacement driver availability but unless abused doubtful its an issue generally, speakers can age quite well if surrounds are of good materials. I seem to remember there was some issue with tweeter availability but not sure it was this particular model.

 

[kemmler3D]

>How old is too old when it comes to speakers, these are very expensive and this makes me nervous.

I think the rule of thumb is that capacitors start to go bad significantly often after about 20 years. Surrounds also have a limited lifetime depending on what they are made of. These are definitely fix-able items, (not necessarily cheap to fix if you aren't into DIY, though) and other than that speakers don't tend to fail in subtle ways.

You should definitely demo them and run sweep tones on them if you can, this tends to reveal problems very quickly.

 

[Looneybomber]

Revel may not have stellar customer support for their products. This person is trying to get help with their Studio 2 speakers. So far, no resolution.

https://www.avsforum.com/threads/revel-studio2-troublshoot-reduced-treble.3309512/

 

[PJ 1]

I have been looking at different options for replacing my mains and I am heavily leaning towards these unless the Arendal 1528’s surpass them.

How old is too old when it comes to speakers, these are very expensive and this makes me nervous. How much of a risk is it to buy a used pair and for something to wrong with them?

Check the measurements here: https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

I wouldn't say "surpass" but nearly as close for a lot less than "new" Salons. Add in the warranty, build quality (Arendal makes TANKS), and new/modern parts, and I'd say no brainer for the Arendals.

 

[fredoamigo]

Of course, the Arendals won't have the 'pedigree' of Revel, so that might not be ideal in case of resale, but based on what we've just seen with these initial data from the 1528 Tower 8, I think the Arendal team knows what they're doing. Not to mention the 10-year guarantee. If I were looking for a full-range pair for the end game, they would be at the top of my list.

 

[BossBunos]

Great choices I think! Always fun to look for new speakers.
I've had my salon2's repaired a year ago. Initially some issues with non matching part numbers but they have changed them over the years. Got a new tweeter and 8" woofer. Also got some resistors replaced on the crossover. All was done by the Dutch importer which had excellent service!
I also have the 1723 sealed sub which as mentioned before is really high build quality and has great warranty.
I have not heard the new arendal towers but I highly doubt that they match the salon sound quality. The wide dispersion with constant directivity and flat frequency response is rare. Let us know what you will chose eventually and what you think of the speaker.

 

[PJ 1]

Great choices I think! Always fun to look for new speakers.
I've had my salon2's repaired a year ago. Initially some issues with non matching part numbers but they have changed them over the years. Got a new tweeter and 8" woofer. Also got some resistors replaced on the crossover. All was done by the Dutch importer which had excellent service!
I also have the 1723 sealed sub which as mentioned before is really high build quality and has great warranty.
I have not heard the new arendal towers but I highly doubt that they match the salon sound quality. The wide dispersion with constant directivity and flat frequency response is rare. Let us know what you will chose eventually and what you think of the speaker.

I would be careful saying "highly doubt". They both measure extremely well and the 1723 line was very well engineered and well behaved so they do have a proven track record. I'd also bet the 1528s have more dynamic range. Yes, Salon 2s are outstanding speakers but I bet dollars to donuts so are the Arendals.