Revel F206 Tower Speaker Review

[amper42]

Question here for owners. Last night as I was listening to some music, pretty loudly I might add, I noticed that one of the speakers sounded a bit distorted, but more like something was rattling on the inside when certain very specific low frequencies were being played in this one particular song I was listening to.

Is this at all possible? And is it something I could potentially self-diagnose and repair? Have had these speakers for 5 years so doubt they’re still covered by warranty.

1. Do you have mice? Or is a pet gerbil missing?

2. Take the screen off and examine the woofers. Do they have any cracks or separation in the outer or inner edges of the driver?

3. Use REW to do a full frequency scan with the speaker in question. Does the rattle show up? If not, it may be an issue with the recording.

I had a 15" passive radiator that came loose from the frame in my VMPS SuperTowers. I had no idea what it was until I opened the cabinet. It would make a scary vibration in the low frequencies. I refoamed the radiator and it worked great. If none of the hints above offer a solution you may have to look inside the speaker.

 

[typericey]

Thanks for the review, @amirm! These are my main speakers and I got them in '21, solely basing on the F208 review with nothing but hopes that there will be a significant trickle down of all that measured goodness.

I still have them 3 years later with no upgrade itch. In short, my ears were/are happy with them. With this review I now have the "dyno charts" validating that I made the right decision. Maybe it will help me sleep better at night.

Revel product distribution in Manila isn't the best so I was glad to have gotten 'em when I had the chance.

I think I am mostly cured of upgraditis. I have an old OG Topping D90 with is a solid front end to compliment these speakers, and the only "question mark" left in my system is my Rotel amp which I hope to see Amir's measurements of, one day. Of course, there is still that dream/grail setup of an F226Be + Benchmark amp. Perhaps one day...

[P.S. Better late post than never; I've been dormant in this forum for quite a while]

 

[starfly]

1. Do you have mice? Or is a pet gerbil missing?

2. Take the screen off and examine the woofers. Do they have any cracks or separation in the outer or inner edges of the driver?

3. Use REW to do a full frequency scan with the speaker in question. Does the rattle show up? If not, it may be an issue with the recording.

I had a 15" passive radiator that came loose from the frame in my VMPS SuperTowers. I had no idea what it was until I opened the cabinet. It would make a scary vibration in the low frequencies. I refoamed the radiator and it worked great. If none of the hints above offer a solution you may have to look inside the speaker.

1. No, lol
2. I did inspect it and didn't see any noticeable damage. But will need to take another look.
3. Will try that.
4. I just moved them into another house, but transported them in their original boxes that are very well padded, so doubt anything happened to them then, but can't rule it out.

 

[Laserjock]

@starfly did you swap speakers left to right,
Right to left or switch speaker wires to see if it follows?

 

[starfly]

@starfly did you swap speakers left to right,
Right to left or switch speaker wires to see if it follows?

That might not work because each speaker is individually corrected for room EQ, but I’ll try it.

 

[mtaz]

These are at or near the top of my short list. Probably next would be the Arendal 1723 Tower S, but there's a lot of competition at this price point (and my budget is actually a bit higher), but I keep coming back to these. I haven't listened to either BTW; my only option for auditioning speakers locally is Best Buy.

I'd really like to have the F226be, but I just don't think I can justify the price.

 

[Cadillacofminds]

In my current situation investing in and installing absorption panels doesn't work and I don't have the space to bring my speakers out from the front wall, can I get confirmation that even with the distortion measurements shown EQing to deal with front wall bounce cancellation centered a little below 300hz can't work?

 

[whit]

Question here for owners. Last night as I was listening to some music, pretty loudly I might add, I noticed that one of the speakers sounded a bit distorted, but more like something was rattling on the inside when certain very specific low frequencies were being played in this one particular song I was listening to.

The "one particular song" part makes me wonder if it might be in the source material. Is there somewhere to find a recording that's just a frequency sweep, and use that to see if the speaker cabinet has a rattle at a specific pitch?

 

[BJL]

If you're happy with your screen height, nope! I run an M105 there and they work well together.

I enjoyed these speakers in the L/R positions so much that I ended up buying an additional three so that I have the F206 as L/C/R and side surrounds. Never been happier. I also took advantage of the flash sale at Crutchfield a couple of weeks ago and bought a pair of F36s for the back surround and a pair of F35s for the (atmos) front wide. Great speakers!

My ears are thankful for this review, my bank account, not so much ...

 

[JohnnyNG]

Which has long happened already (interesting comparison starting at 21:08)

I've owned the Q990C soundbar used in this comparison for a few months now and, for what it is at its price, have absolutely no complaints. I've had a dedicated 7.1.4 Atmos theater setup before and movie/TV sound isn't really a priority any longer as the kids have grown.

 

[Pieter1267]

Any of you Revel F206 owners want to share how these are doing at a bigger loudness level? Above 90 or higher? Specifically im wondering anything between 100hz and above, lowerbass levels if you like.

 

[nathan]

You mean like this?

 

[Pieter1267]

You mean like this?

View attachment 411860

More or less. So I can deduct they run fine at 100db, and at 102 (wich is very loud indeed) some slight issues appear (but still good) at 102?

 

[fjhuerta]

More or less. So I can deduct they run fine at 100db, and at 102 (wich is very loud indeed) some slight issues appear (but still good) at 102?

Alternatively, you can do what I did: add a big dual 12" subwoofer running from 50Hz and down, and not worrying about the distortion in the low bass. It did a noticeable improvement to my system.

 

[Robbo99999]

More or less. So I can deduct they run fine at 100db, and at 102 (wich is very loud indeed) some slight issues appear (but still good) at 102?

The thing to bare in mind is that those measurements are done at only 1 metre distance, so if your listening distance is greater than 1 meter then you'll get a lower measured SPL (volume) but with the same level of distortion. Conversely if you turn up the volume to compensate for the increased distance then you get even more distortion of course. Yeah, so good to bare in mind that these distortion measurements are done at 1 meter.

 

[staticV3]

The thing to bare in mind is that those measurements are done at only 1 metre distance, so if your listening distance is greater than 1 meter then you'll get a lower measured SPL (volume) but with the same level of distortion. Conversely if you turn up the volume to compensate for the increased distance then you get even more distortion of course. Yeah, so good to bare in mind that these distortion measurements are done at 1 meter.

Equally good to bear in mind that these are anechoic (ish) measurements of a single speaker.

Two of them will add 3dB to the total SPL and room reinforcement will typically add some 3-6dB as well.

 

[Robbo99999]

Equally good to bear in mind that these are anechoic (ish) measurements of a single speaker.

Two of them will add 3dB to the total SPL and room reinforcement will typically add some 3-6dB as well.

Yes, and by room reinforcement you mean added bass I guess.

 

[rynberg]

Yes, and by room reinforcement you mean added bass I guess.

Being in a room will result in higher sound levels at distance across much of the frequency spectrum, due to reflections, it's not just added "bass".

 

[robh36062]

I have a pair with a 14" subwoofer in my Livingroom. They can get loud and still stand good. However if you want to listen at 102db I would look for a more sensitive system.

Rob

 

[Pieter1267]

I have a pair with a 14" subwoofer in my Livingroom. They can get loud and still stand good. However if you want to listen at 102db I would look for a more sensitive system.

Rob

Wich Revel models do you think have better or higher output? 226? 208?