Revel 328 Be vs 228 Be (with small SVS 3000 micro subs)?

[Oddball]

Hi,

Looking to try Revel Be bigger towers - as already have the Be C426 center. Current towers are more than adequate and love them, but curious about the “epic” Revel LCR combo.

Can get the new pair of 328’s for EUR 12K which is not such a great price but have been looking for a while and seems can’t really get them cheaper. Still way off the retail price. Heard these at showroom and they are indeed quite a treat. Heard them without the center though.

There is a deal on a new pair of 228’s for EUR 5.5K which appears much more tempting. For another EUR 2K I could add two SVS 3000 micros to these and possibly get great results for much less. Subs are obviously optional. Did not hear 228’s and even less with the sub, and would not be practical to audition them, and would not be the same showroom anyway.

Mostly into HT nowadays but open to suggestions as to how this could be different for music.

 

[analogonly]

You'll likely still want subs with the 328. I'd go by room size. If you are getting subs anyway, look at the 226 for an even better price.

 

[3125b]

For another EUR 2K I could add two SVS 3000 micros

I don't think small subs make much sense with either of those speakers. How much speace do you have?
5500€ is a good price for a pair of 228 Be, I haven't heard then, but if you have the center anyway it's probably a sensible decision.
Amir measured both 328 and 228, they are very similar with the 228 having a tiny bit more bass extension and higher - albeit still very low - distortion. Unless you have a huge room the 228 are certainly much better value.

 

[amper42]

Hi,

Looking to try Revel Be bigger towers - as already have the Be C426 center. Current towers are more than adequate and love them, but curious about the “epic” Revel LCR combo.

Can get the new pair of 328’s for EUR 12K which is not such a great price but have been looking for a while and seems can’t really get them cheaper. Still way off the retail price. Heard these at showroom and they are indeed quite a treat. Heard them without the center though.

There is a deal on a new pair of 228’s for EUR 5.5K which appears much more tempting. For another EUR 2K I could add two SVS 3000 micros to these and possibly get great results for much less. Subs are obviously optional. Did not hear 228’s and even less with the sub, and would not be practical to audition them, and would not be the same showroom anyway.

Mostly into HT nowadays but open to suggestions as to how this could be different for music.

What size is your room and how far away is the listening position from the mains?

If the room is over 400sqft I would lean towards the F328Be. But if the room is 400sqft or less I would recommend the Revel F228Be. I doubt you would need subs. I know I don't with my F228Be.

The F228Be can actually sound a little stronger on the low end than the F328Be if you are within 10'. That front port on the F228Be can really fill the room. Use the "Loudness" control on a RME ADI-2 DAC FS to dial in the bass/treble just the way you want it with your favorite music playing and they can sound better than you can ever imagine.

In a larger room, the taller tweeter in the F328Be can offer a beautiful more realistic sound of a standing female vocalists in the room and make it so whether the listener is standing or sitting it sounds just as good. If my funds were limited I would certainly go with the F228Be and be totally satisfied. But, if my room is large the F328Be would be worth considering.

 

[Oddball]

A bulk response, hope I don't miss anything.

Room is irregularly shaped multi purpose room and more than 6,000 cft. So on the larger side. MLP is about 2.4m from the speakers and while could go further away, for now this is it as don't want to upsize the TV or loose FOV angle. So while the room is big, the MLP is relatively close and front speakers have a pretty direct impact - the listening area is around 5x5M but open on the right side to the rest of the room and halways.

Bigger subs are not an issue, there is 4 of them - look the signature. The idea about the micro subs is not to supplement the big subs but just the roll-off of the towers when used as large. It does complicate the integration but at the end of the day it is just about finding the right delay, volume, and curve for the subs which is really not that complicated given the subs have their own DSP. How the big-er subs integrate is a more complex issue especially in bigger systems - but let's just assume it works one way or another as this is a speaker choice thread.

 

[Oddball]

Just another thought is that I don't want to get out of this exercise with regret, or at least not too much of it, as not expecting miracles. From what I hear is that 228 might be a sensible solution?

Towers I have are pretty good, but there is some inconsistency in the front stage because the towers are different brand/design than the centre and have different sound signature. Not really noticed too often but there are instances when clearly audible. Not an option to match the centre to towers as that brand has nothing sensible in their current line up to match the tower performance. And not really wanting to downsize the centre either. Revel C426 Be is really good and checks out most boxes.

 

[amper42]

I was really surprised how close my Revel F228Be speakers sound compared to my F328Be. If you can get a F228Be pair for $6,000 it's an absolute bargain. You will NEVER regret it.

 

[Oddball]

I was really surprised how close my Revel F228Be speakers sound compared to my F328Be. If you can get a F228Be pair for $6,000 it's an absolute bargain. You will NEVER regret it.

This is really helpful and many many thanks.

 

[Dovydas]

Where did you see F228Be for 5500 Eur per pair? If it's not a secret of course

 

[Oddball]

Well there is only one pair available in the EU and will let you know if I decide to pass on it. But similarly priced pair is here:

REVEL F228Be

The Revel Performa F228Be is a powerful and elegant 3-way, dual 8-inch floorstanding loudspeaker that sets a new world standard in performance. Using the award-winning Performa3 F208 as the starting point, virtually every component was re-engineered to extract the finest details, the highest...

nintronics.co.uk

 

[Dovydas]

Well there is only one pair available in the EU and will let you know if I decide to pass on it. But similarly priced pair is here:

REVEL F228Be

The Revel Performa F228Be is a powerful and elegant 3-way, dual 8-inch floorstanding loudspeaker that sets a new world standard in performance. Using the award-winning Performa3 F208 as the starting point, virtually every component was re-engineered to extract the finest details, the highest...

nintronics.co.uk

I'm more interested in 226Be as I don't need towers to go very low. I'm using 2 subs already and adding one more later. The room is not that big as well, so F226Be is enough.

 

[Looneybomber]

Just my opinion, please feel free to think I’m crazy.

Get the 226be. Why?
1. Money saved can go to bigger and more subs. That will be more useful during movies than larger towers highpassed at 80hz.

2. Identical tweeters, mids, and woofers across the front soundstage. Many years ago, I used identical bookshelf speakers (Infinity Beta 20) as my base layer. I “upgraded” the LRs to Beta 50 towers. For all intents and purposes the Beta 50s were a better speaker, but it decreased my overall sound quality because I lost my seamless panning. The change in sound between speakers was distracting at times. I never would have guessed a speaker upgrade would provide an overall downgrade.

 

[Oddball]

Thanks for your thoughts and they are definitely sound. Already have 4 big-ish subs (signature). More is always better, but at this point this is it. Perhaps when I rearrange the HT and upgrade display to 110 or 115", I might think of a way to add more subs for 4x4 array.

While I do sometimes use towers with 80hz crossover, that is not really my preferred HT setting. Usually it is LFE+Main, so use them as large, plus load them up with the LFE to a reasonable extent via LFE distribution. Not that difference is that significant, but it does show up at occasion and with certain material.

Re panning I hear you, but my primary concern now is that design of the centre and towers is really so different that it shows up. Sure that 328's or 228's would not be that different. As far as 226's, they are obviously very competent, but have smaller drivers and footprint.

 

[CJPopovich]

Coming from a different angle here, I had F226BE's and replaced them with F328BE's. First of all, the tweeters are different. Similar, sure, but not the same, and the F328BE has the benefit, whatever it is, of a later generation wave guide. Secondly, the F328's do midbass wonderfully. I don't like either of them without subwoofers, but the F328BE is much easier to blend with subwoofers, assuming you're not stuck with the standard 80hz crossovers, and is adequate without a subwoofer if you have some eq capability (or a more bass friendly room than I have).

I have not heard the F228BE. I got the F226BE's thinking that they, with multiple subs, would be similar to the F328BE's also with subs and I liked the narrow cabinet. The F328BE is a better speaker -loved the F226BE's, but absolutely no question to me, the F328's image better in the same room, with same electronics, not surprisingly have much better bass, which is easier to blend with subs should you choose to, and although much larger, seem to disappear better. All these things were a bit of a surprise to me, as I expected them to be much more alike.

So, my suggestion is if you can swing the F328's, get 'em, and down the line add a couple subs if you're feeling the itch for more bottom end.