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Is Revel a good match for JBL?

stunta

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Hello ASR members,

TL;DR: Are Revel speakers a good match for JBL in a 5.1 system?

My current surround set up is a mix of speakers. Front mains are JBL 708P. Center is JBL 306P. Surrounds (L&R) are ATC SCM7 (v1). I am thinking of making the system consistent by replacing the ATCs with speakers that match the JBL. But they need to be passive (no power outlet nearby). I am also looking for a reasonable upgrade while I am at it. The ATCs sound too small and I am not getting the surround effect I would like. I am also limited by space (max 14" height). The dipole Revel S206 would just about fit.

Would any Revel bookshelf be a decent match or should I stick with JBL? I say "decent" because when watching movies/TV, its not a huge deal - I just want bigger speakers that would fit.

The 705i is an option but not sure if it would be an upgrade of the ATCs. They are both 5" woofers.

Thanks.
 

restorer-john

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JBL and Revel are both under the Harman umbrella and both design their speakers for neutral response so from that standpoint, it would be a good fit.

That's a bridge too far. Just because Samsung/Harman/JBL/Revel/Infinity etc are all under one company umbrella doesn't mean a thing, when it comes to products matching or working well together.

They design their speakers to sell, at all different price points, not all sound similar in a line up.
 

restorer-john

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The 708P measures well: https://www.sausalitoaudio.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/JBL-708P-Charts.pdf
And Revel products measure well at their price point. Good measuring speakers will sound more alike than different. Samsung purchased Harman after the fact but Revel/JBL/Infinity all share the same heritage and design philosophies based on Floyd Toole's research - and that's what makes them a good fit.

Been drinkin' again? ;)

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Sancus

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Personally I think timbre matching concerns are overblown in multi-channel systems. If you have neutral speakers with good directivity, after room EQ they will all tend to sound the same(at least on axis).

The one caveat is I've never seen measurements of that particular Revel bipole, and Googling didn't bring any up, so no guarantees. I'm not totally sold on the bipole idea for surrounds in general, either, but you didn't ask for feedback on that part. It probably depends on your room, and what's going to happen with the reflections.
 

LightninBoy

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Personally I think timbre matching concerns are overblown in multi-channel systems. If you have neutral speakers with good directivity, after room EQ they will all tend to sound the same(at least on axis).

The one caveat is I've never seen measurements of that particular Revel bipole, and Googling didn't bring any up, so no guarantees. I'm not totally sold on the bipole idea for surrounds in general, either, but you didn't ask for feedback on that part. It probably depends on your room, and what's going to happen with the reflections.

This.

Revels or a speaker from any company that generally follows Toole's philosophy will be fine. I wouldn't worry about the size of the woofer as long as it can go 80hz or lower. Redirect the rest to the sub (or mains if you don't have a sub).
 
OP
stunta

stunta

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Thanks @Sancus & @LightninBoy . I don't really want/need a dipole. Its just that that is the only speaker in the Revel line that is short enough to fit in that space! :)

I have calibrated the system with Dirac live.

Personally I think timbre matching concerns are overblown in multi-channel systems. If you have neutral speakers with good directivity, after room EQ they will all tend to sound the same(at least on axis).

That makes sense. Perhaps the Netflix/Amazon shows just don't have enough going on in the surround channel. Any good blu-rays that have a lot of surround content?
 

Blumlein 88

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My own video system uses Revel F12's front right and left. JBL LSR305 center and surrounds with an LSR 310 subwoofer. The F12's were some of the early Revels to be made from the spin-o-rama type research and measurement. Presumably went thru the same blind testing vs competitors that LSR305's would have done.

Now for a time I used the 305s and sub up front. Later the F12's. The F12's are better, but this is a fairly large room and I think just too large for the 305s. The 305's have a different timbre vs F12's if you swap out one for the other. I prefer the F12's, even in a smaller room where the power isn't a big issue.

In surround use I'm fully happy with the 305's. The fact they have better bass response than you might expect from small surrounds is a plus and I have full range surrounds selected in my pre/pro.

I'm not 100% satisfied with the LSR305 for center use. If I listen only to center and swap an F12 for the LSR305 intelligibility seems improved, and it seems the center isn't quite up to being as clear as the left and right pair of F12s. Now this is a minor complaint, and most people would never notice. It only concerns me if I bother to pay attention to it.

I'd thought about trying a Neumann KH-80 in center. I was so glad Amir just measured those, as I had my eye on some second hand ones. However, they have limited output in the lower end of what they can do and I believe that would be a problem for dialog. I also think that is part of the problem with the LSR 305 in my larger room. The 305s are rated for 108 db SPL full bandwidth using pink noise. I do not think the KH-80 can manage that much loudness as the 108.8 db SPL is for 100Hz to 6 khz, and I don't know if that is tones or a band of noise. The woofer is said to be limited to 92 db. Not to mention I hate the idea of paying for 1 KH80 what the other three LSR 305s cost if it still wasn't going to do the job.

I'd also considered getting an M12, which is an F12 without the dual woofers. You see them on ebay at times.

Oh, I've tried a few other speakers in place of the 305 center, and so far none are as good a match as it is.
So Revel and JBL can match well, though maybe not perfectly.
 

jhaider

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Would any Revel bookshelf be a decent match or should I stick with JBL? I say "decent" because when watching movies/TV, its not a huge deal - I just want bigger speakers that would fit.

The 705i is an option but not sure if it would be an upgrade of the ATCs. They are both 5" woofers.

Are you sure S206 is a current product? If so, it looks as if it is an next generation version of the Infinity speaker Dr. Toole praises in his book. But I'm not sure they are.

LSR705i would be a large upgrade over ATC in theory. Better directivity control, considerably higher SPL - their 5" woofer has the volume displacement of a good 6.5" woofer, which shows in the max SPL measurements of 705P at Sound und Recording. In practice, I'm not convinced the surround speakers are that important, unless they have some clearly audible tic.
 

LightninBoy

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I'm not 100% satisfied with the LSR305 for center use. If I listen only to center and swap an F12 for the LSR305 intelligibility seems improved, and it seems the center isn't quite up to being as clear as the left and right pair of F12s. Now this is a minor complaint, and most people would never notice. It only concerns me if I bother to pay attention to it.

I'd thought about trying a Neumann KH-80 in center. I was so glad Amir just measured those, as I had my eye on some second hand ones. However, they have limited output in the lower end of what they can do and I believe that would be a problem for dialog. I also think that is part of the problem with the LSR 305 in my larger room. The 305s are rated for 108 db SPL full bandwidth using pink noise. I do not think the KH-80 can manage that much loudness as the 108.8 db SPL is for 100Hz to 6 khz, and I don't know if that is tones or a band of noise. The woofer is said to be limited to 92 db. Not to mention I hate the idea of paying for 1 KH80 what the other three LSR 305s cost if it still wasn't going to do the job.

I'd also considered getting an M12, which is an F12 without the dual woofers. You see them on ebay at times.

Oh, I've tried a few other speakers in place of the 305 center, and so far none are as good a match as it is.
So Revel and JBL can match well, though maybe not perfectly.

Right, unlike timbre matching surrounds, timbre matching across the front *is* pretty important. I've taken a similar path to you in that I've upgraded my main speakers and then went through a number of non-matching centers. I upgraded to Revel M22s in the main and moved one of old mains (an old passive Tascam monitor) to center. I also cycled through a couple of traditional center channel speakers from Polk and Dynaudio that weren't as good of a match as the Tascam monitor. Ultimately, I bought a used pair of M22s and just use one as the center and keep the other in storage as a backup. So now I've got 3 M22s across the front and (obviously) ideal matching.

Based on that experience, if I were in your shoes I'd definitely grab an M12 or other Revel monitor for the center channel. Like you, I also believe a KH-80 wouldn't have enough output for that role.
 

LightninBoy

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Thanks @Sancus & @LightninBoy . I don't really want/need a dipole. Its just that that is the only speaker in the Revel line that is short enough to fit in that space! :)

I see. Well, I think there will be a several candidates for you that Amir will be measuring. I can recommend the NHT Classic 2s (now discountinued) because I use them and they would fit, but I'm sure there are several good quality current speakers out there.
 

Neddy

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Any good blu-rays that have a lot of surround content?
My favorite BR for surround is the 2L Hoff Ensemble releases.
I 'think' the first release is a bit more immersive.
 

jaykay77

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Hello ASR members,

TL;DR: Are Revel speakers a good match for JBL in a 5.1 system?

I just picked up a pristine set of 2 F12s and the C12 center for $200 bucks on craigslist.
I've never been prouder of a purchase!
The F12s are incredible for the money...even triple or quadruple the money....the soundstage and imaging absolutley awesome.
The C12 is an excellent center.
I'm Revel's newest superfan, can't wait to grab some new performas when I have the opportunity

Thanks.
 
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