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

[Kal Rubinson]

My comments are based on this interview. I guess we can all interpret it in our own way.

Kevin Voeks on design of Revel Salon 2

http://www.stereophile.com/interviews/608kev/ "Determined to find out more about Revel's Ultima Salon2, I tracked down designer Kevin Voecks late on the second day of the 2008 Consumer Electronic Show. I persuaded him to step outside the demonstration suite of Harman International Industries...

www.whatsbestforum.com

????? I said: "I do not believe that they have pursued the goal of developing "the best possible loudspeaker" since the Ultima."

 

[MoreWatts]

the goal of developing "the best possible loudspeaker"

They may have shifted to developing the best possible in-wall loudspeakers, however. The PerformaBe in-walls have some impressive measurements and one model was indistinguishable from the equivalent F228Be floorstander in a well-done listening test posted at AVSForum.

 

[Imakeller]

2-way center - even more disappointing .

That center looks like a weak link. The C426Be looks much, much better, but, of course, for much more money too.

 

[Oddball]

Whether they use smaller or larger drivers should be determined by yet another clean sheet design like they did with the original salon and salon2 to develop the best possible loudspeaker.

I doubt that they will be able to approach it this way anymore which unfortunately changes the mission statement they started out with.

That center looks like a weak link. The C426Be looks much, much better, but, of course, for much more money too.

Things are relative in Revel world. I got mine for EUR 2.8K. Black as night and brand new. Kicking not like a mule but more like a thoroughbred horse.

I understand that they can't sell many of these "monster" centers, but having them in the lineup is an indication that they are serious. The center they have next to these high priced towers is, well, a really bad joke.

 

[Imakeller]

Honestly given how the performa4 is, I would not mind if the salon3 kept the same cabinet design ( maybe with some aluminum internals for stiffness and upgraded drivers and crossover. They can probably also have a more modern plinth with IsoAcoustics. They could have done this 10 years ago.

The new Arcam cabinet design looks fine to me, but the finish doesn’t compare to what would be an Ultima3 level. Just judging by net product weight, I suspect the Salon2 cabinet is much better braced, and the Arcam cabinet would need improved, as you suggested.

Also, the Salon2 was “just” discontinued in 2023, and it still is one incredible speaker. There’s a thread on ASR questioning if the Salon2 is still state of the art. In my mind, yes, it is. Unless they want to do an external active crossover, I don’t know what else they can do? Improve the waveguide a bit? Sure. Maybe improved drivers? Maybe. I say “maybe”, because new marketing buzz words and acronyms aren’t improvements unless confirmed by measurements.

 

[Oddball]

The new Arcam cabinet design looks fine to me, but the finish doesn’t compare to what would be an Ultima3 level. Just judging by net product weight, I suspect the Salon2 cabinet is much better braced, and the Arcam cabinet would need improved, as you suggested.

Also, the Salon2 was “just” discontinued in 2023, and it still is one incredible speaker. There’s a thread on ASR questioning if the Salon2 is still state of the art. In my mind, yes, it is. Unless they want to do an external active crossover, I don’t know what else they can do? Improve the waveguide a bit? Sure. Maybe improved drivers? Maybe. I say “maybe”, because new marketing buzz words and acronyms aren’t improvements unless confirmed by measurements.

They have BE 328 as flagship and it seems like most people have acknowledged that. This line seems below their flagship line of the old and BE, but still has some serious questions to answer in this price range. If they are planning to sell this on the same on-off 50% discount pattern, then some might find value in that and buy on the dips.

 

[MarkS]

Also, the Salon2 was “just” discontinued in 2023, and it still is one incredible speaker. There’s a thread on ASR questioning if the Salon2 is still state of the art. In my mind, yes, it is. Unless they want to do an external active crossover, I don’t know what else they can do? Improve the waveguide a bit?

Put the tweeter at ear level.

Floyd Toole mounted his Salon 2s upside-down on a (very sturdy!) cabinet in order to achieve this.

Omnidirectional loudspeakers ?

Very interesting design, for me too! "To drive each of the SP drivers by dedicated amplifier after DSP (XO/EQ/Phase/Polarity/Delay/Gain, etc.)" is similar/identical to my approach (ref. here) even though in my present setup only L&R super-tweeters are in a kind of omni-directional (3D...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Imakeller]

They have BE 328 as flagship and it seems like most people have acknowledged that. This line seems below their flagship line of the old and BE, but still has some serious questions to answer in this price range. If they are planning to sell this on the same on-off 50% discount pattern, then some might find value in that and buy on the dips.

I’d say you’re right about the positioning of this new line.

The F328Be is the best currently produced Revel speaker, and it’s a very fine speaker, but I would still take the Salon2 if given the choice. Others might choose differently.

 

[Imakeller]

Put the tweeter at ear level.

Floyd Toole mounted his Salon 2s upside-down on a (very sturdy!) cabinet in order to achieve this.

Omnidirectional loudspeakers ?

Very interesting design, for me too! "To drive each of the SP drivers by dedicated amplifier after DSP (XO/EQ/Phase/Polarity/Delay/Gain, etc.)" is similar/identical to my approach (ref. here) even though in my present setup only L&R super-tweeters are in a kind of omni-directional (3D...

www.audiosciencereview.com

That’s a fair point. I just used a laser pointer to aim my Salon2 tweeters at the RSP/MLP seated ear level by raising the rear slightly. A little less involved than Floyd Toole’s approach!

 

[Lsc]

I’d say you’re right about the positioning of this new line.

The F328Be is the best currently produced Revel speaker, and it’s a very fine speaker, but I would still take the Salon2 if given the choice. Others might choose differently.

100% chose the salon2.

A $16k+ speaker that’s based on $3500-5000 speaker cabinet is not desirable to me. Also, the deep bass priority over efficiency and 4-way vs 3-way.

This is very similar to when the Performa F52 was released. They said the F52 was better than the original salon.

 

[nathan]

Glad to see new stuff from Revel. Personally, I want in wall or on wall stuff for my use case, but I concede they are more in the 'hi fi' marketplace than the home theater custom install space.

 

[LumiAudioNut]

Some pictures of the driver assemblies from a What HiFI magazines preliminary review of the Radia R45 loudspeakers:

Hands on: I’ve been hands-on with Arcam’s flagship Radia floorstanders, and they're the icing on a one-make hi-fi cake

Who doesn't love system synergy?

www.whathifi.com

Incidentally, isn't it possible that Revel's NA versions of these speakers will differ significantly from what we've seen so far (e.g. different enclosures or, at least, finishes)?

 

[MarkS]

Incidentally, isn't it possible that Revel's NA versions of these speakers will differ significantly from what we've seen so far (e.g. different enclosures or, at least, finishes)?

I would think so. We 'Muricans love our fine corinthian leather wood finishes.

(Well, not me, but I'm an outlier ...)

 

[Beave]

No more SB Acoustics, it appears.

 

[amper42]

This is the first major Revel speaker product launch with new ownership in place. It will be very telling. I will be looking closely at whether focus and engineering staff were maintained at previous high levels or if it's now about mass consumption.

 

[nathan]

This is the first major Revel speaker product launch with new ownership in place. It will be very telling. I will be looking closely at whether focus and engineering staff were maintained at previous high levels or if it's now about mass consumption.

Yep. So far all we know is that they were designed by the same designer as the earlier models and that they beat the Performa 3 series in double blind preference testing.

 

[tineared]

The truth is that we still don't really know anything other than these are the new Radia line by Arcam.
Presumably these are, more or less, the next iteration of Revel's Performa 3 line.
We don't know if Revel plans on continuing a more budget-minded line like the Concerto series.
We don't know if Revel plans on continuing the more upscale and higher performing Performa Be series, and if they do, will they continue to share design features with the Performa series or will they be a completely independent line?
Will there be a top-shelf line to continue in the no holds-barred tradition of the Ultima series? (This seems particularly doubtful)
Should we be out trying to find what remains of older Revel stock to purchase because we don't really know what Revel/Samsung will do next?
Enquiring minds want to know...

 

[nathan]

We know that one of their biggest dealers has stated that Revel is telling their dealers that these are explicitly designed to outperform and replace the Performa 3 line. I believe the link to that was posted higher up in this thread.

 

[PristineSound]

Looks like they decided to reduce the vertical dispersion to tame floor and ceiling reflections.

 

[holbob]

The M105 did that pretty well already