Revel f 208 or Mofi 888

[scotchrocks]

Yes, based on some users' helpful feedback (including @amper42), I went ahead and purchased a pair of F228Be and C426Be for my theater space. The F228Be arrived a few days ago, and they have exceeded my expectations. I'll post some more thoughts on the F228Be thread after I get the system dialed in further, but at the sale price I bought them for ($6000/pair), it really feels like a steal.

The F226Be is currently available for as low as $4000/pair from some retailers (in silver), so just a bit more than the F208. It shares the same tweeter and midrange as the F228Be, but has less bass extension since it's smaller. I'm not sure if the reduced bass extension would be an issue, especially since you already run subs. I think long term, the F226Be's may be able to keep up with your system more than the larger F208s. You can always add more bass refinement with subs, but you can't really improve the midrange/treble.

I haven't heard the MoFi, but they look like a good choice too. They do have slightly narrower horizontal dispersion (around 10 degrees), which may or may not be impactful. I find the wide dispersion of the F228Be makes it sound great now matter where you're seated, or if you're way back in the room outside of the seating area. The sound quality and dynamics really draws attention to itself. The higher tweeter position also makes it easy to maintain line of sight in my room if you're moving around.

 

[Robovox]

Both speakers offer excellent measured performance. There will still be audible differences- if possible do try to listen to both speakers before buying is my suggestion.

I heard the MoFi speakers at the Ascot show at the weekend; they sounded tonally neutral and even handed as one would expect from the measurements, rather than “lively”.

The finish was perfectly fine and workmanlike but nothing exceptional, in my view.

Do listen to your heart as well as your head. If your aesthetic preference for the Revels is strong, and you plan on keeping the speakers for a long time, if you bought the MoFi speakers would you regret not getting the Revels?

 

[rynberg]

Since they are both great speakers, I would go for aesthetics and the walnut Revel F208s, which are much more tasteful and elegant (to me). Especially since you love your M106s -- the F208 sounds similar but has better in-room balance and, of course, has dramatically more lower frequency output in comparison.

 

[Kblade]

Thanks to all the people that have replied to my post. And please don’t stop giving me any of your comments or recommendations. As I really appreciate them, I had one gentleman SDC talk about replacement tweeters having some QC issues. Not matching some playing 1.5 decibels lower/ higher in volume and hd issues. My only worry now is will Revel be able to replace drivers in future, I’ve owned fair amount of speakers and I’ve never blown a driver, but you never know what can happen In fact my main speakers are Sonus Faber Extremas which are 30 years old have had no problems and I have replacement drivers for those as well.
Also SDC said that the customer service was not that good with the replacement drivers, and having had some QC issues worries me. I have really nice speakers that I enjoy. I have a pair of mint condition Hales Revelation threes with the Hales Transcendence C1 center with matched replacement drivers. And I’ve never heard a better center than the C-1 it has dual seas 8 inch drivers with a seas 4 inch mid and a special tweeter designed by Paul Hales and Vifay. It weighs in at 108 pounds very inert cabinet. They really sound good. But they’re 25 years old. I was wanting to get some ported speakers as these are acoustic suspension. My thought was a ported speaker would give my theater more dynamics. And that surely in 20 years speakers have improved. https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/118/index.html Here is a picture of my fronts and center channel

 

[SDC]

Thanks to all the people that have replied to my post. And please don’t stop giving me any of your comments or recommendations. As I really appreciate them, I had one gentleman SDC talk about replacement tweeters having some QC issues. Not matching some playing 1.5 decibels lower/ higher in volume and hd issues. My only worry now is will Revel be able to replace drivers in future, I’ve owned fair amount of speakers and I’ve never blown a driver, but you never know what can happen In fact my main speakers are Sonus Faber Extremas which are 30 years old have had no problems and I have replacement drivers for those as well.
Also SDC said that the customer service was not that good with the replacement drivers, and having had some QC issues worries me. I have really nice speakers that I enjoy. I have a pair of mint condition Hales Revelation threes with the Hales Transcendence C1 center with matched replacement drivers. And I’ve never heard a better center than the C-1 it has dual seas 8 inch drivers with a seas 4 inch mid and a special tweeter designed by Paul Hales and Vifay. It weighs in at 108 pounds very inert cabinet. They really sound good. But they’re 25 years old. I was wanting to get some ported speakers as these are acoustic suspension. My thought was a ported speaker would give my theater more dynamics. And that surely in 20 years speakers have improved. https://www.stereophile.com/floorloudspeakers/118/index.html Here is a picture of my fronts and center channel

Driver failures could be found right after installation and there is no real case of degrading over time. So I still recommend Revels when handled by appropriate dealers, it all depends...



If you raise some pet cats, I might hesitate. One member had to replace half of drivers because they shredded the surrounds lol. Takes some waiting for the replacements to arrive (well at least they make replacements which is better than nothing).

 

[SDC]

And my two cents on 228be and 208...


I have salon2, 228be, 426be

My friend owns salon2, 208, 206


Assuming 328be and salon2 is somewhat similar.

Difference between 208 and 228be is even smaller than that of 228be and 328be. It's basically the same speaker with a sweet tasting tweeter...

It doesn't mean 228be and 328be is bad. It just means 208 is so good that BE lines don't really matter when you can get your hands on fine pair of 208...


And personally I'll take the 208 over 226be anytime.

 

[MarkS]

They really sound good. But they’re 25 years old. I was wanting to get some ported speakers as these are acoustic suspension. My thought was a ported speaker would give my theater more dynamics.

This is not true. And subwoofer integration is trickier with ported speakers due to more rapid phase change.

And that surely in 20 years speakers have improved.

Not necessarily.

 

[Beave]

And my two cents on 228be and 208...


I have salon2, 228be, 426be

My friend owns salon2, 208, 206


Assuming 328be and salon2 is somewhat similar.

Difference between 208 and 228be is even smaller than that of 228be and 328be. It's basically the same speaker with a sweet tasting tweeter...

It doesn't mean 228be and 328be is bad. It just means 208 is so good that BE lines don't really matter when you can get your hands on fine pair of 208...


And personally I'll take the 208 over 226be anytime.

Different woofers, different midrange, different crossovers, in addition to the different tweeter you mentioned.

 

[amper42]

20+ year old speakers have their own issues. Cones and tweeter can fail or separate. Glue can deteriorate, Crossover capacitors may not age well. In addition, today's measurements were not available for 20+ year old speakers which were likely built less on science and more by ear. Depending on whose ear it was it may be good or bad.

 

[goat76]

I really like the tall F328Be tweeter. It's 4" higher than the F228.

Why do you prefer the sound of the tall tweeter?

The thing I don't fully get with different loudspeaker models by the same manufacturer is the different heights of the tweeters. When looking in the manual of the bookshelf model M126Be, it says that the correct listening height should be at the level of the tweeter which is this speaker's acoustic center. Shouldn't the acoustic center be the tweeter for the floorstanding models as well, and if so, why are they then made in such a way that the tweeter ends up at completely different heights between the models?

 

[Koeitje]

Why do you prefer the sound of the tall tweeter?

The thing I don't fully get with different loudspeaker models by the same manufacturer is the different heights of the tweeters. When looking in the manual of the bookshelf model M126Be, it says that the correct listening height should be at the level of the tweeter which is this speaker's acoustic center. Shouldn't the acoustic center be the tweeter for the floorstanding models as well, and if so, why are they then made in such a way that the tweeter ends up at completely different heights between the models?

View attachment 394859

Its probably purely for aesthetical reasons, but remember that larger speakers are used in larger rooms and then the extra height doesn't matter that much in terms of angle towards the listener.

 

[Kishore]

I have a chance to buy revel f208 in walnut brand new for 3500.00 But also very interested in the mofi 888. Anybody recommend one over the other any recommendations appreciated. My room is 20ft wide and 35ft in depth with 9ft ceilings. Will be home theater and a music room. Room is slight left of neutral in sound, tube traps help to bring it back close to neutral. Will be switching back and forth from Dirac to no correction. I’m 60 years and like a neutral to slightly livelier sound. I have a pair of Revel M106 in my home theater in family room and love them.

Between the two- go for cheaper priced one (both are good IMHO). However for such a large room as noted earlier above - if you can pay more $$- opt for bigger floor standers which will do better justice for your room. Ultimately your budget will drive your choice . I am not sure where you are located but JBL/Revel support here in US has been excellent for me.

Yeah I will take Revel Be speakers over Performa3 any time (but it is over $3k pricepoint ).

 

[amper42]

Why do you prefer the sound of the tall tweeter?

The thing I don't fully get with different loudspeaker models by the same manufacturer is the different heights of the tweeters. When looking in the manual of the bookshelf model M126Be, it says that the correct listening height should be at the level of the tweeter which is this speaker's acoustic center. Shouldn't the acoustic center be the tweeter for the floorstanding models as well, and if so, why are they then made in such a way that the tweeter ends up at completely different heights between the models?

View attachment 394859

Room size and listening distance from the speaker determines whether I prefer the 4" taller tweeter found on the Revel F328Be. When someone is asking for a recommendation for a 25' x 35' room as found in this thread, the Revel F328Be would be my choice. Why? When you are sitting back 12' from the source or walking around the room the higher tweeter placement is a nice touch for giving vocals a more natural standup orientation. In addition, the F328Be tweeter has a more powerful magnet structure than the F228Be.

However, in a more normal sized 300 sqft room or less I prefer the F228Be. The front ports offer a rich bass that may sound even more powerful than the F328Be in a small to medium size room. And the tweeter is at a normal ear height when seated within 7' to 9'. Both speakers offer the same wide dispersion and a powerful tonality that fills the entire room. In my opinion, the F228Be offers exceptional value if you can purchase a pair for $6k on sale.

 

[goat76]

Room size and listening distance from the speaker determines whether I prefer the 4" taller tweeter found on the Revel F328Be. When someone is asking for a recommendation for a 25' x 35' room as found in this thread, the Revel F328Be would be my choice. Why? When you are sitting back 12' from the source or walking around the room the higher tweeter placement is a nice touch for giving vocals a more natural standup orientation. In addition, the F328Be tweeter has a more powerful magnet structure than the F228Be.

However, in a more normal sized 300 sqft room or less I prefer the F228Be. The front ports offer a rich bass that may sound even more powerful than the F328Be in a small to medium size room. And the tweeter is at a normal ear height when seated within 7' to 9'. Both speakers offer the same wide dispersion and a powerful tonality that fills the entire room. In my opinion, the F228Be offers exceptional value if you can purchase a pair for $6k on sale.

I have listened to the F228Be a few times at my local HiFi store, I think they sound great and would definitely be on my radar if I were in the market for new speakers. The F228Be would probably suit me better than the F328Be as I prefer a smaller listening triangle with the higher ratio of direct sound that brings to the table.

 

[Kblade]

I just wanted to come back and tell everybody what I think about the F208’s. I just dropped these things down in my room and they sounded incredible no matter where I put them in. I’ve never had a speaker that was so room compliant. It’s absolutely amazing. And the way the speaker releases sound a lot of speakers the sound stays by the speaker doesn’t come at you, like a wave of water. With the Revel F208, the sound comes above you to the side of you. I was listening to some classical music last night and I heard a triangle coming out of my freaking window It was spooky. I really can’t imagine needing anything else at this point in time in my life and I have more expensive speakers than these, money means nothing in audio anymore. It will be really interesting to see when they come out with the new performa series if they can beat the older series. Again thanks to all for the help. I made the right decision because of ASR and the community.

 

[kma100]

I have had my 208's for almost a year and really like them. Node > outlaw amp > speaker.

Curious to try out the Genelecs and/or a cardioid speaker like the DD 8C or Sigberg Manta!

 

[sigbergaudio]

I have had my 208's for almost a year and really like them. Node > outlaw amp > speaker.

Curious to try out the Genelecs and/or a cardioid speaker like the DD 8C or Sigberg Manta!

Or even closer to the 208s and the 888, the Sigberg Audio Saranna.

 

[Vettett15]

The Revel F328Be and the F228Be are amazing speakers. As you know the retail price is not cheap. But if you're not in a hurry, wait for sales or other opportunities where you can find them at discount prices. I found a pair of new F328Be speakers for $9700. I have had them for a few years in a 23' x 28' room. They are amazing. I use them with the RME ADI-2 DAC FS and a Purifi amp. The RME Loudess controls are fantastic with the F328Be. These speakers can shake the room or simply offer normal background music that still kicks even at low volumes. In a large room, I really like the tall F328Be tweeter. It's 4" higher than the F228. And the dual rear ports on the F328Be can offer amazing bass when properly setup.

I had the BMR Towers in the same room as the Revel F328Be and while their FR is good too, there's something about the tonality of the F328Be that blows away the BMR Towers with Jazz, Rock and other highly rhythmic music. The F328Be speakers sing. You may not notice it the first time you listen but as I compared them with other speakers and played with the RME loudness control settings I soon realized I haven't enjoyed any speaker as much as the F328Be. You can obviously pay less, but if you can find a deal on a pair of F328Be it's a speaker designed for a lifetime of fun.

I enjoy the F328Be so much that I thought it would be nice to have a pair of F228Be too. I looked for a year and didn't want to pay $11,000 retail. Then this last July Revel offered a sale for $3400 each and my dealer was able sweeten the deal to $6,000 for the pair. It's a lot but the deal was quite nice. I had Sierra Towers with RAAL tweeters in the target 12' x 13' room before. When the Revel F228Be speakers arrived and were setup they ABSOLUTELY blew away my Sierra Towers. The Revel sound is amazingly full and dynamic. It's a whole new level. And the front port adds lots of strength to the bass line. I thought the F228Be would be a noticeable step down from the F328Be - but it's NOT. They sound very similar.

You can't go wrong with either the Revel F228Be or the F328Be. My only suggestion would be look for sales and even then try to negotiate a lower sale price if possible. A good dealer can make it happen. It's one of most rewarding purchases I have made!

Curious what version of the sierra towers you had. V1, V2 or the upgrade to the exl?

 

[amper42]

Curious what version of the sierra towers you had. V1, V2 or the upgrade to the exl?

I have the Sierra Towers with RAAL Tweeter. They were built new for me by Ascend in Aug 2020. That was the best model they had at the time. I called them about upgrading them to the ELX but Ascend wanted another $2400 for parts/shipping and you have to replace the drivers, insulation and binding posts. It's a job and the speakers still will NOT look half as good as the Revel F228Be or have the same displacement.

The Revel F228Be supports larger 8" woofers, a BE tweeter that is so much more responsive and engaging than the RAAL it's crazy. Displacement matters and that front port on the F228Be is substantially more powerful than the rear ported Sierra Tower. It's no contest. No matter what drivers I put in the bamboo Ascend case it's going to be at a disadvantage compared to the larger, exceptionally beautiful Revel F228Be enclosure. Looking at them side by side gives you an idea of what I'm talking about. Turn them on and the F228Be is the clear winner in sound quality AND looks.

The Sierra Towers are very capable with a subwoofer but its tweeter is much more directional. If you are standing up or moving around the room the F228Be still sounds great but you really need to be sitting at the right height to get the same quality from the Sierra Tower RAAL tweeter which is mounted considerably lower. Also, the Revel F228Be enclosure is totally rounded on the corners and pear shaped to the back. It's a much more labor intensive effort that's functional and more appealing to the eye. The Sierra Tower bamboo enclosure is a simple rectangle that sits on a black piece of wood. It's almost DIY in comparison. When you can get the Revel F228Be on sale for $6,000 a pair, it's functionality and beauty beats the Sierra Tower box design by a mile.