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New Revel Performa4 / Arcam Radia speaker line-up -- with Anechoic EQ

MoreWatts

MoreWatts

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Information on these new Revel speakers has leaked to the internet, so we might as well start a thread here. Revel is set to make official announcements in the USA on March 1. The 'Revel Owners Thread' at AVSForum has an active dealer that posts alotta info (and offers alotta help). The info here is from that thread, plus from WHAT HI*FI. I've seen discussion on these speakers show up on 2 threads here now, but these are important speakers, so we might as well consolidate. Why are these 'important'? Because the Performa3 F208 is prominent in Toole's book!

A few points gleaned from AVSForum:
  • Revel has not updated their website, and the only current Revels are the PerformaBe stand-alone and in-wall speakers.
  • Revel was always a ~USA-exclusive brand. That is the reason they've always been 'difficult' to acquire elsewhere. They now plan to expand, at least to Europe.
  • Since Arcam is an established brand in Europe, they will sell the 'Revel Performa4' lineup as 'Arcam Radia.' No word on what they will do with the Revel PerformaBe line-up, at this point.
  • There is only 1 center-channel available, and it is a 2-way. The AVSForum dealer was told by Revel that the C208 and even the C426Be never sold well. Probably because both are large speakers. At this point, if you want a Revel 3-way center, ya gotta spring for the big-boy C426Be.
  • No more 8-inch woofers, which is sad news to a F208 owner. The big floor-stander now has 3 x 6.5 inch woofers. If you do the math, this is about equal to 2 x 8 inchers, with ~400 sq. in. of woof.
  • At this time, only a 10-inch subwoofer is shown. Most of us here, however, pursue other subwoofer solutions (I use HSU, for example).
  • "They are being produced now and should be for sale in the US in April 2026. They come in black and walnut finishes, both look matte, not gloss, but I'm not sure about that yet.... Are there grills for them? I don't know." The info below from WHAT HI*FI says they will have magnetic grills, and the only finish listed is 'Black-Walnut.'
  • Dealers do not have Spinoramas yet, but these should be available soon.
  • "According to Jim Garrett, the Revel business model is new generations need to beat the old in blind listening tests, so Performa4 should outperform Performa3. The new waveguide is impressive.... Concerta2 came after Performa3, so it actually had a better waveguide."
  • Based on the above quote, the C245 center channel should be better than the C205, but probably not better than the C208....
  • The dealer at AVSForum will probably hold-off on info updates until the official March 1 announcements from Revel.
  • [EDIT: for info on the Anechoic EQ feature, see post #86.]
Many folks at AVSForum lament that Performa3 users have no reason to 'upgrade' to the Performa4. My take is that the 'upgrade' from the Performa3 line is the PerformaBe line. If you're gonna upgrade....UPGRADE!

I will add more info as it becomes available. @amirm, as a Revel dealer, please correct any info as needed. :cool:

performa4 earphoto.webp


Copy-pasta info from WHAT HI*FI:

R15 (£1699 / €2000 / $2000 a pair) = M145 as Performa4, in pairs only.
Compact bookshelf speaker
5.25in/130mm MCC (Micro Ceramic Composite) mid/bass
1in/25mm DCC (Deep Ceramic Composite) dome aluminium tweeter
Advanced Acoustic Lens waveguide
x2 rear-mounted bass-reflex ports
Magnetic grille
Black Walnut finish

R25 (£2599 / €3000 / $3000 a pair) = M146 as Performa4, in pairs only.
Bookshelf speaker
6.5in/165mm MCC (Micro Ceramic Composite) mid/bass driver
1in/25mm DCC dome aluminium tweeter
Advanced Acoustic Lens waveguide
x2 rear-mounted bass-reflex ports
Magnetic grille
Black Walnut finish

R35 (£3998 / €5000 / $5000 a pair) = F345 as Performa4, singles available.
Floorstander
x3 5.25in/130mm MCC (Micro Ceramic Composite) woofers
x1 5.25in/130mm DCC midrange driver
1in/25mm DCC dome aluminium tweeter
Advanced Acoustic Lens
x2 rear-mounted bass-reflex ports
Magnetic grille
Black Walnut finish

R45 (£5998 / €7000 / $7000 a pair) = F346 as Performa4, singles available.
Floorstander
x3 6.5in/165mm MCC (Micro Ceramic Composite) woofers
x1 6.5in/165mm DCC mid/bass driver
1in/25mm DCC dome aluminium tweeter
Advanced Acoustic Lens
x2 rear-mounted bass-reflex ports
Magnetic grille
Black Walnut finish

R35C (£1699 / €2000 / $1500 each) = C245 as Performa4
Centre-channel speaker
x2 5.25in/130mm MCC (Micro Ceramic Composite) mid/bass drivers
1in/25mm DCC dome aluminium tweeter
Advanced Acoustic Lens
x2 rear-mounted bass-reflex ports
Magnetic grille
Black Walnut finish

R25B subwoofer (£2599 / €3000 / $3000) = B140 as Performa4
10in/250mm coated fibre-composite woofer
750W total RMS power
Rear-mounted bass-reflex port
Black Walnut finish
 
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Thanks for putting this together.

No word if they're updating the in-wall lineup?
 
kyuu said:
No word if they're updating the in-wall lineup?
Click to expand...
It hasn't been mentioned at the AVSForum Revel thread. Revel is really pushing the PerformaBe in-walls.

JBL, however, has abuncha new in-walls, as part of their JBL Synthesis line-up. Those are all 2-ways with compression drivers, afaik. AVSForum has a thread on those.
 
Well, looks pretty meh to me. Still sticking the tweeter at the top however high that happens to be. And the Ascilab C6B has the same size drivers and superb measurements at half the price of the M146.
 
Looks like a significant downgrade from Revel F328BE to F345?
Or am I missing something?
Can't imagine wanting 6.5" woofers instead of 8".
 
MarkS said:
Well, looks pretty meh to me. Still sticking the tweeter at the top however high that happens to be. And the Ascilab C6B has the same size drivers and superb measurements at half the price of the M146.
Click to expand...
You shouldn't be paying MSRP for these, just like any JBL or Revel model really. Wait for sales and/or talk to a dealer.

As far as Ascilab, yes they're great but it's not as though they don't have their own tradeoffs (rather low sensitivity for one). Also, the Radia speakers will be in the channel long before you can actually get your hands on any Ascilab you order.
 
amper42 said:
Looks like a significant downgrade from Revel F328BE to F345?
Click to expand...
Are sure about your comparisons? The F328Be is currently Revel's top of the line floorstander at over $19K a pair msrp. So, yes, that would be a significant downgrade.... ;)
 
kyuu said:
the Radia speakers will be in the channel long before you can actually get your hands on any Ascilab you order.
Click to expand...
I've had the Ascilab C6Bs for 6 months now ;)

Early bird and all that ...
 
I’ve been looking forward to splurging on the new line of speakers and upgrading the F208’s this website made me buy 3 years ago. I believed that revel’s engineering would make the upgrade worth it this generation would be a significant step up.

I can see how the slimmer form factor is a bit more modern, the visual mass of the F208s was intimidating initially. Perhaps the slimmer width will capture new conquest sales.

I can’t wait to hear them, but for someone who really likes loud electronic music, not sure if three 6.5”s would be an upgrade over the F208’s 8” woofers. I will look for their distortion measurements, maybe hope they build the F328Be for a long time.
 
MarkS said:
I've had the Ascilab C6Bs for 6 months now ;)

Early bird and all that ...
Click to expand...
Maybe you hadn't noticed the kerfuffle this week about product delivery... It's a sore subject.
 
MarkS said:
Well, looks pretty meh to me. Still sticking the tweeter at the top however high that happens to be. And the Ascilab C6B has the same size drivers and superb measurements at half the price of the M146.
Click to expand...
I highly suspect the CB has lower maximum output than the M146. The SB Acoustics driver is a good driver but not one that's made for handling a lot of bass at high volume. For that, you'd have to step up to the A6B. The M146 probably falls somewhere between the two. There are reasons to prefer any one of those speakers over the other assuming that the M146 performs at least on the level of existing Revel lines.
 
Looks like this will be a big year for new product introductions. There’s even a new Harmon brand, Radia. Not sure the changes are for the better, though. $24,000 for a pair of 4369, vs. the 4367 price of $15,000/pair doesn’t sound motivate me to wait and purchase.
 
Here's some specs on the big floorstander/F208 replacement, which is the Arcam Radia R45 or Revel Performa4 F346. New model specs are from the Arcam website. F208 specs are from my owner's manual. I'll add specs for the others eventually.

SpecF346/R45F208
1-inch tweeter materialDeep Ceramic Compositealuminum
mid-range driver, inches & material6.5 Deep Ceramic Composite5.25 aluminum
woofers, inches & material3 x 6.5 Micro Ceramic Composite2 x 8 aluminum
cross-over points, Hz275 and 1.7 k270 and 2.2 k
nominal impedence, ohms68
sensitivity, dB (2.83V/1m)8888.5
amplifier power range, watts20 - 25050 - 350
bi-wire optionsyesyes
"controls"noneLow-frequency contour & high frequency level
port placementdual rearsingle front
dimensions, H x W x D; in. (mm)44.4 x 14.1 x 16.3 (1127 x 358 x 415)46.5 x 11.8 x 14.75 (1182 x 300 x 375)
weight, lb. (kg)87.5 (39.7)79.8 (36.3)
frequency range, +- 6 dB30 Hz to 40 kHz27 Hz to ? kHz

Three 6.5 woofers equal ~398 square inches of woof, while two 8 inchers are ~402 square inches.

The woofer/midrange crossover points are ~the same, but the midrange/tweeter crossover is lower on the new model.

The width measurements deceive, I think, because that is measured at the plinth. The new plinth is much wider than the cabinet, while in the F208 it extends only ~1 inch beyond the cabinet. The actual cabinet width on the new one has to be narrower, right? The new plinth would make for a more stable base. The F208s are kinda easy to tip.

I have no idea what the difference is between 'Micro Ceramic Composite' and 'Deep Ceramic Composite' materials.

Handles less power, but can use a smaller amp? No more breeze when a deep bass-note kicks, with the ports now on the rear. :cool:

View attachment 509512
 
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Honestly not the biggest fan of the trend of dust cap-less woofers with surrounds and screws hidden behind trim rings. Doesn't do it for me aesthetically but also seems like an extra step added to any repairs.
 
I was wondering how the move from 8” to 6.5” woofers would translate into the specs. Lower FR spec is virtually the same, which is good IMHO.
 
Ktacos said:
Honestly not the biggest fan of the trend of dust cap-less woofers with surrounds and screws hidden behind trim rings. Doesn't do it for me aesthetically but also seems like an extra step added to any repairs.
Click to expand...

I have to agree, because, sadly, I have to diagnose a tweeter issue in my F208s (still under warranty). Me and Revel service are trying to determine if I need to pull the tweeters or send in the speakers. The tweeter screws are easily accessible on the F208. Also there is a small edge that separates the screws from the nice walnut cabinet, to help alleviate possible screw-driver slippage for those of us with shaky hands. :(
 
Imakeller said:
I was wondering how the move from 8” to 6.5” woofers would translate into the specs. Lower FR spec is virtually the same, which is good IMHO.
Click to expand...
Yes but we'd have to see what the distortion/compression looks like. The spec'd sensitivity on these is also a hair lower, I believe, than it was the Performa3.
Ktacos said:
Honestly not the biggest fan of the trend of dust cap-less woofers with surrounds and screws hidden behind trim rings. Doesn't do it for me aesthetically but also seems like an extra step added to any repairs.
Click to expand...
Looks nice, I think. The issue with disassembly for repairs is certainly fair, though I think the number of people doing that themselves rather it getting RMA'd or sent to a repair shop (or the dump if it's later in life) is probably too small for manufacturers to really worry about.
 
So no replacements for the F35 and F36?
 
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