Parts for Salon 2s?

[Astoneroad]

Even though I'm not currently in the market for anything, I habitually scan the used gear ads several times a day to torment myself. In the past few weeks, I've noticed more used Revel Salon 2s on the market than ever before. Some at prices that tempt me, even though I have no place to put them. My question is this, are parts, especially drivers, available to repair these now and in the foreseeable future? I couldn't justify a purchase of this size, if the useful life of the speakers is just a few years, if I can't fix a potential issue.

Is there a fixed amount of time that Revel has to support a discontinued flagship, or at least a ballpark of how long I can reasonably expect to be able to enjoy or even resell in the future? Thanks for your input.

 

[Astoneroad]

Help! Lol... we all know how earth shattering and important these purchases are... lol. I know that you guys know this. Thanks.

 

[fpitas]

I bet those drivers will last a lot longer than a few years. You might ask Amir about this stuff, he owns Salon 2s.

 

[staticV3]

Here's a relevant thread:

10-year-old Revel Salon2 ?

Hello and thank you for having a look at this, I have an opportunity to purchase a 10-year-old pair of Salon2 in good condition for roughly half the list price. I am looking for new high-end loudspeakers - a major, long-term purchase for me - and did not consider this model because : too...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Astoneroad]

I bet those drivers will last a lot longer than a few years. You might ask Amir about this stuff, he owns Salon 2s.

Amir is my fall back in the event that I don't get educated here. Agreed that they should last a few years, but they could come with a lot of years already logged. Perhaps someone can also inform me of the start of production on these? Thanks.

 

[Astoneroad]

Here's a relevant thread:

10-year-old Revel Salon2 ?

Hello and thank you for having a look at this, I have an opportunity to purchase a 10-year-old pair of Salon2 in good condition for roughly half the list price. I am looking for new high-end loudspeakers - a major, long-term purchase for me - and did not consider this model because : too...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks. I forgot about that thread, I'll read it through.

 

[Mr. Widget]

Even though I'm not currently in the market for anything, I habitually scan the used gear ads several times a day to torment myself. In the past few weeks, I've noticed more used Revel Salon 2s on the market than ever before. Some at prices that tempt me, even though I have no place to put them. My question is this, are parts, especially drivers, available to repair these now and in the foreseeable future? I couldn't justify a purchase of this size, if the useful life of the speakers is just a few years, if I can't fix a potential issue.

Is there a fixed amount of time that Revel has to support a discontinued flagship, or at least a ballpark of how long I can reasonably expect to be able to enjoy or even resell in the future? Thanks for your input.

It is unlikely the drivers will fail in normal or even enthusiastic use, but accidents do happen... kids, pets, etc.

In my experience as a Harman dealer, in recent years Harman has proven to be fairly poor at providing replacement parts. Virtually every speaker I have tried to get repaired that was out of warranty the repair parts were ultimately determined to be NLA.

Excellent products, but I guess it depends on your comfort level with the possibility of disappointment down the road.

 

[Astoneroad]

It is unlikely the drivers will fail in normal or even enthusiastic use, but accidents do happen... kids, pets, etc.

In my experience as a Harman dealer, in recent years Harman has proven to be fairly poor at providing replacement parts. Virtually every speaker I have tried to get repaired that was out of warranty the repair parts were ultimately determined to be NLA.

Excellent products, but I guess it depends on your comfort level with the possibility of disappointment down the road.

Thanks for that information as a Revel dealer. I'm going to read a previous thread on this topic and then see where the needle is pointing.

 

[Todd k]

Let me tell you about my revel salon journey. About 5 years ago I acquired thru a trade, boat for speakers, original salons,the boat was old and the speakers had issues. Sent to United in N Y, what a collection of Not very helpful people. 2 drivers were bad, replacement parts not available. One crossover needed repair and was fixable, but what was the point fixing it if I could not replace the drivers. Spent about a grand on shipping back and forth. Tried for about a year to find replacement parts, gave up. Put em up for sale for someone’s project. Amazingly a guy from China bought them and said his company could fix them and they were highly sought after in China. Made a decent score and then bought a pair of used salon 2’s. Keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens to them. I believe ther were some reliability issues concerning drivers on the salon 1. In my looking for spare drivers i came across a handful of others looking for replacement drivers with no luck. The general consensus was that revel made a great speaker but long term service of the product was sorely lacking and the repair service non existent. I think replacement parts are available for the 2’s, but if they discontinue we might be S O L. Track record for revel not stellar.

 

[Todd k]

By the way the revel salon 2’s are absolutely end game speakers. Amir has good taste.

 

[restorer-john]

Contact Revel directly and ask the question about spare parts availability and price. Ask them what numbers of driver parts they are sitting on.

If you don't hear back from the general Revel enquiry email, contact the US sales manager/s and get them to follow up with your enquiry or at least put you in touch with their national parts manager/service manager.

https://www.revelspeakers.com/contact.html (scroll down)

 

[Mr. Widget]

By the way the revel salon 2’s are absolutely end game speakers. Amir has good taste.

Agreed on both counts.
When Sidney Harman was still alive you could send vintage JBL drivers back to the factory for repair for almost every JBL ever produced.

Over the decades the engineering at Harman has led the industry and the customer service... not so much.

Contact Revel directly and ask the question about spare parts availability and price. Ask them what numbers of driver parts they are sitting on.

Good advice, but I wouldn't be optimistic. At least if their switchboards get clogged with calls and emails maybe they will eventually realize the importance of customer service.

 

[beren777]

I was told by Harman in 4Q 2021 that the Voice2 tweeter was no longer being manufactured and was no longer available to purchase as a replacement part.

If you buy older models like the Salon2, I'd factor parts availability into what you're willing to pay. Some of them may be getting sold as people move on to newer, supported models.

Harman did have replacement tweeters for a C30.

 

[BossBunos]

Probably a bit late. But woofers are not available any more. I accidentally pierced the surround of one woofer and they are completely out of stock. Luckily the surround can be restored. Tweeters are still available. They share the same part number as the voice2 tweeter so I'm surprised by above message. I also have a damaged crossover but this can also be repaired. Revel does not have any crossovers available either. So overall the support for parts is pretty bad.

 

[restorer-john]

Get onto Harman/Revel and remind them they are required by law to stock parts for what is a TOTL speaker that has only just been discontinued.

There’s no way on earth they can get away with saying there’s no parts.

 

[BossBunos]

I'm in contact with the importer in the Netherlands and they are extremely helpful! I have no direct contact with Harman. I certainly agree with you but I don't think 1 email by me will change a thing.

 

[MKR]

Wow, I am surprised by this. When I was seriously considering the Salon 2 as my end game speaker recent months (they truly are incredible), my primary concern was in fact that they were being discontinued. And as a result, ending up with a massive and very expensive paperweight if a driver failed. Seems maybe my concern was justified, makes me glad I did not go this direction.

With above said, I spoke directly to a Harman rep during that time and was assured there would be replacement parts available for at least 10 years. Either this was a lie to not scare folks off from purchasing a discontinued product, or the importer in Netherlands has no idea what they are talking about. For your sake and all the other Salon 2 owners out there, I hope it is the latter. Good luck!

 

[Trouble Maker]

How cheap are used Salon 2's? Are they actually better or better for your situation in the Be226-328 range? I've read somewhere that Be328 was supposed to be the replacement in the lineup for the Salon 2, but that's just 4th hand anecdotal. I can't imagine the Be328 lags much if any behind the Salon 2, especially for most people in most use cases.

@Kal Rubinson did you switch from something in the old lineup to new (Be line?), any thoughts?

 

[BossBunos]

Wow, I am surprised by this. When I was seriously considering the Salon 2 as my end game speaker recent months (they truly are incredible), my primary concern was in fact that they were being discontinued. And as a result, ending up with a massive and very expensive paperweight if a driver failed. Seems maybe my concern was justified, makes me glad I did not go this direction.

With above said, I spoke directly to a Harman rep during that time and was assured there would be replacement parts available for at least 10 years. Either this was a lie to not scare folks off from purchasing a discontinued product, or the importer in Netherlands has no idea what they are talking about. For your sake and all the other Salon 2 owners out there, I hope it is the latter. Good luck!

They do know what they are talking about. They even had someone physically check a Harman warehouse in Asia to confirm a driver was there in storage which was not the case. No woofers anywhere.

 

[GXAlan]

What speaker companies in 2023 are “good” at providing long-term support?

- Meyer Sound
- JBL Professional is doing a better job than consumer.
- Magnepan*
(they previously put the refurbishment program on hold during the pandemic, but apparently they are back to refurbishing)

-Falcon Acoustics

How about KEF, Genelec, Klipsch, B&W, Elac, etc?