KEF Blade 2 vs Ascend ELX Towers as End Game

[amper42]

Personally, I find the Revel F226 less desirable than the F228Be.
It's a lot smaller and the bass just isn't there like the F228Be.

Below is the F228Be versus the Sierra Tower:

The Revel F228Be makes my Sierra Tower sound like a toy when A/B'ing music between the two.

Here's the 1993 VMPS SuperTower III vs Revel F328Be and Sierra Tower.

VMPS Super Tower III footprint makes Sierra Towers and Revel F328Be look like the babies of the family.
They don't have the finesse of the Revel but with some decent EQ the VMPS Super Tower III can FILL the room like no other modern speaker I have auditioned.

 

[2Sunny]

Personally, I find the Revel F226 less desirable than the F228Be.
It's a lot smaller and the bass just isn't there like the F228Be.

Below is the F228Be versus the Sierra Tower:

View attachment 457864
The Revel F228Be makes my Sierra Tower sound like a toy when A/B'ing music between the two.

Here's the 1993 VMPS SuperTower III vs Revel F328Be and Sierra Tower.
View attachment 457878

VMPS Super Tower III footprint makes Sierra Towers and Revel F328Be look like the babies of the family.
They don't have the finesse of the Revel but with some decent EQ the VMPS Super Tower III can FILL the room like no other modern speaker I have auditioned.

OMG! Do you actually have that monster in your house? How cool is that!!

 

[2Sunny]

Is that the dome tweeter on your ELX? It won't be as wide as that ribbon.

I went through something similar with the Philharmonic Audio HT, which is almost identical to the ELX. I ended up liking the more expensive speakers, but I think each has strengths the other lacks.

Hmmm. Just reading that thread now. At $11k a pair and with the comments that Genelecs keep their value well you have most definitely made me think about testing them next just to see if I can hear a difference. Honestly looking at the design I've always found it hard to believe they can sound as good as folks say they do, but obviously with so many raving it must be true.

 

[Mart68]

Personally, I find the Revel F226 less desirable than the F228Be.
It's a lot smaller and the bass just isn't there like the F228Be.

Below is the F228Be versus the Sierra Tower:

View attachment 457864
The Revel F228Be makes my Sierra Tower sound like a toy when A/B'ing music between the two.

Here's the 1993 VMPS SuperTower III vs Revel F328Be and Sierra Tower.
View attachment 457878

VMPS Super Tower III footprint makes Sierra Towers and Revel F328Be look like the babies of the family.
They don't have the finesse of the Revel but with some decent EQ the VMPS Super Tower III can FILL the room like no other modern speaker I have auditioned.

The Super Towers. Every time.

 

[amper42]

OMG! Do you actually have that monster in your house? How cool is that!!

Yeah, in my younger years I also had two 300 gallon salt tanks with moray eels, scorpion fish, sting rays, large Bat fish and Queen angels.
Once I didn't get the lid on super tight and a ribbon eel was on the floor the next day. Those tanks made the house pretty humid but they were
fun.

 

[mj30250]

I feel like this question was asked here (almost exactly) not too long ago.

As has already been mentioned, bass and dispersion differences will be the most audible by far. The Blades are more robust in bass output/extension and have a larger vertical window and the ELXs will be significantly wider horizontally. The end result is that this will largely come down to the room and individual preference. Given the cost difference, one could purchase the ELXs and implement a world-class subwoofer system which would crush virtually any pair of floor standing speakers in bass performance (if such things are of interest to you), and you'd still have thousands of dollars left over.

It would be a fascinating blind test to be sure. Assuming the ribbon ELXs were used, if both speakers were run full range, I'd expect the KEF to be favored with bass heavy tracks, the ELX with acoustic material. The stuff in the middle would probably be the most interesting to compare.

 

[amper42]

I feel like this question was asked here (almost exactly) not too long ago.

As has already been mentioned, bass and dispersion differences will be the most audible by far. The Blades are more robust in bass output/extension and have a larger vertical window and the ELXs will be significantly wider horizontally. The end result is that this will largely come down to the room and individual preference. Given the cost difference, one could purchase the ELXs and implement a world-class subwoofer system which would crush virtually any pair of floor standing speakers in bass performance (if such things are of interest to you).

It would be a fascinating blind test to be sure. Assuming the ribbon ELXs were used, if both speakers were run full range, I'd expect the KEF to be favored with bass heavy tracks, the ELX with acoustic material. The stuff in the middle would probably be the most interesting to compare.

The RAAL tweeter offers limited vertical dispersion. You need to be sitting with ears at RAAL height for best results. Simply getting up and standing can alter the sound significantly. I wouldn't recommend RAAL for parties where guests are mobile. On the other hand, the Revel F228Be doesn't have that limitation.

 

[mj30250]

The RAAL tweeter offers limited vertical dispersion. You need to be sitting with ears at RAAL height for best results. Simply getting up and standing can alter the sound significantly. I wouldn't recommend RAAL for parties where guests are mobile. On the other hand, the Revel F228Be doesn't have that limitation.

Agreed and I mentioned this already. If you're up and about a lot, go with the Titan dome version (or other non-ribbon of your choice). I use Sierra LXs in the living room for that reason (as well as WAF concerns). In my "theater" / music room, I'm seated 99% of the time. I wouldn't trade away even a speck of the ELX ribbon's performance in order to get a perfect vertical window in that setup. I feel that that the limited vertical dispersion is at least part of the "magic".

 

[a4eaudio]

... It would also be interesting to determine if bookshelf speakers would beat out towers in blind tests assuming they were tested with subwoofers included in the test.

You probably need some room treatments.
Then use REW (or whatever software) to equalize the A & B speakers.
Add two subs in strategic locations based on REW and use with both A & B speakers if one of the speakers has significantly more low end than the other.

I'd guess, at this point a lot of speakers that differ significantly in price would be about the same in terms of sound quality. BUT...that is a little unfair because two things you (normally) pay for with more expensive speakers is low-frequency extension and higher max SPL.

 

[Mort]

Yes, ELX could beat a Blade in a blind test.

The designs are so different that, depending how you set up the listening environment, either could sound better. Hence ELX cound beat Blade. QED.

I would prefer the ELX

• In a big room
• With multiple listening places
• Playing acoustic music
• Not critically listening to the production
• mostly sitting not standing
• only with a subwoofer connected

 

[Multicore]

Personally, I find the Revel F226 less desirable than the F228Be.
It's a lot smaller and the bass just isn't there like the F228Be.

Below is the F228Be versus the Sierra Tower:

View attachment 457864
The Revel F228Be makes my Sierra Tower sound like a toy when A/B'ing music between the two.

Here's the 1993 VMPS SuperTower III vs Revel F328Be and Sierra Tower.
View attachment 457878

VMPS Super Tower III footprint makes Sierra Towers and Revel F328Be look like the babies of the family.
They don't have the finesse of the Revel but with some decent EQ the VMPS Super Tower III can FILL the room like no other modern speaker I have auditioned.

I can see from the photo that they FILL the room without eq too.

 

[AscendDF]

We would love to host this at our facility! We do have the capability for precise level matched A/B comparisons, it would be a lot of fun. We would supply food, drinks and some good scotch

My first and only experience with the Blade's was at CES when they were first introduced, this might have been back in 2008 / 2009. They were in a HUGE room (too large for the speakers) and it wasn't a good demo and I left a bit disappointed (not at the fault of the speakers)

If anyone has a pair, is somewhat local to us, and interested in (carefully) bringing them to our place, please reach out...

 

[muslhead]

Personally, I find the Revel F226 less desirable than the F228Be.
It's a lot smaller and the bass just isn't there like the F228Be.

Below is the F228Be versus the Sierra Tower:

View attachment 457864
The Revel F228Be makes my Sierra Tower sound like a toy when A/B'ing music between the two.

Here's the 1993 VMPS SuperTower III vs Revel F328Be and Sierra Tower.
View attachment 457878

VMPS Super Tower III footprint makes Sierra Towers and Revel F328Be look like the babies of the family.

My first 'expensive" speaker. I loved them ... my wife not so much
She promised i would be buried if them if i kept them

 

[jonfitch]

The titan dome has narrower directivity in the highs and won't sound as airy. The ribbon will be obvious as soon as you move your head. Unless you stick your head a vise I dont see how it would win.

 

[PristineSound]

Personally, I find the Revel F226 less desirable than the F228Be.
It's a lot smaller and the bass just isn't there like the F228Be.

Below is the F228Be versus the Sierra Tower:

View attachment 457864
The Revel F228Be makes my Sierra Tower sound like a toy when A/B'ing music between the two.

Here's the 1993 VMPS SuperTower III vs Revel F328Be and Sierra Tower.
View attachment 457878

VMPS Super Tower III footprint makes Sierra Towers and Revel F328Be look like the babies of the family.
They don't have the finesse of the Revel but with some decent EQ the VMPS Super Tower III can FILL the room like no other modern speaker I have auditioned.

The Sierra is not the ELX. There is a huge difference between ELX and Sierra.

 

[AscendDF]

The titan dome has narrower directivity in the highs and won't sound as airy. The ribbon will be obvious as soon as you move your head. Unless you stick your head a vise I dont see how it would win.

The ribbon has wider horizontal dispersion, more narrow vertical dispersion. Moving left to right there will be no change in sound, but yes, moving vertically - depending on the vertical off-axis angle (ideally keeping within +/- 10 degs) changes can be heard. Vertically, it all depends on how far off-axis one is sitting / standing etc. However, that increased vertical directivity also has benefits, dramatically reducing nasty ceiling and floor reflections. Many relate this aspect as to what gives the ribbon that smooth, detailed and incredibly transparent sound.

That stated, even our titan dome version has wider horizontal dispersion but not nearly as controlled as the Blade 2. Blade 2 horizontally is about +/- 50 degs up to about 8kHz, Titan ELX is about +/-70 degs up to ~ 8kHz.

If I were to pick which ELX version to put up against any of the Blades, it would be the ribbon version. In the hundreds of demo's we have done here at the shop between ELX Ribbon vs ELX Titan, 80% prefer the ribbon version.

 

[AscendDF]

The Sierra is not the ELX. There is a huge difference between ELX and Sierra.

100% !

 

[PristineSound]

I have the ELX RAAL and I also have the Perlisten S7t.

First let me set the stage. They are in two different rooms, the Perlisten is in the basement with a lower noise floor and treated room. The ELX is in the living room, only natural sound treatment, such are curtain, rug and bookshelves, etc. Both rooms are irregular shape.

The ELX has a wider sound stage, by subjectively 20% bigger than the S7t. While I'm sure some people appreciate such a wide soundstage, but I personally don't have that deep of an affinity for a soundstage that wide, I can perfectly do fine with a sound stage that is a bit narrower or what the S7t offers. The ELX has this punch to it's mid-bass that really reminds me a kick drum in a live event.

But the Perlisten beats the ELX in every other category, dead phantom center imaging, depth localization/holography, clarity, distinctive layers of instruments and vocals. . .and beats the ELX by a significant margin.

I know this is going to be HiFi word salad audio fool talk, but the S7t can produce certain details that really makes me turn my head and rewind. For example, the track A Voz by Gilsons, certain instruments are so uncannily prominent, distinctively layered, it's simply not possible with the ELX. And I know often times when some speakers are elevated in the higher frequencies it fools some listener to think that it has more detail; I can assure you that is not the case with the S7t, it's not fatiguing and extraordinary neutral. Also Erin said something similar when he reviewed the Perlisten bookshelf.

Now will the ELX sound just as good if it was in the same room? Maybe? I don't know but my suspicion is no, because of the S7t's uncanny ability to reproduce certain details.

Now if the ELX can't come close to the S7t, the Blade supposedly are up there with the Perlisten, if not, better. So that is just some data points.

EDIT: the S7t is nearly 4x as much. For the price, you simply cannot beat the ELX and I will have them for a very very long time.

 

[JSmith]

some good scotch

Ah, now you're talkin'.


JSmith

 

[AscendDF]

I have the ELX RAAL and I also have the Perlisten S7t.

First let me set the stage. They are in two different rooms, the Perlisten is in the basement with a lower noise floor and treated room. The ELX is in the living room, only natural sound treatment, such are curtain, rug and bookshelves, etc. Both rooms are irregular shape.

The ELX has a wider sound stage, by subjectively 20% bigger than the S7t. While I'm sure some people appreciate such a wide soundstage, but I personally don't have that deep of an affinity for a soundstage that wide, I can perfectly do fine with a sound stage that is a bit narrower or what the S7t offers. The ELX has this punch to it's mid-bass that really reminds me a kick drum in a live event.

But the Perlisten beats the ELX in every other category, dead phantom center imaging, depth localization/holography, clarity, distinctive layers of instruments and vocals. . .and beats the ELX by a mile.

I know this is going to be HiFi word salad audio fool talk, but the S7t can produce certain details that really makes me turn my head and rewind. For example, the track A Voz by Gilsons, certain instruments are so uncannily prominent, distinctively layered, it's simply not possible with the ELX. And I know often times when some speakers are elevated in the higher frequencies it fools some listener to think that it has more detail; I can assure you that is not the case with the S7t, it's not fatiguing and extraordinary neutral. Also Erin said something similar when he reviewed the Perlisten bookshelf.

Now will the ELX sound just as good if it was in the same room? Maybe? I don't know but my suspicion is no.

Now if the ELX can't come close to the S7t, the Blade supposedly are up there with the Perlisten, if not, better. So that is just some data points.

EDIT: the S7t is nearly 4x as much. For the price, you simply cannot beat the ELX and I will have them for a very very long time.

If you ever have the time (and energy), definitely compare your ELX Towers to your S7t in the same room, easier to move the ELX to the basement compared to the 120+ pound Perlisten beasts. Room acoustics is critical when it comes to imaging, soundstage and even what details you can hear.