Revel F206 Tower Speaker Review

[Steve Dallas]

I have a pair of these, and I am well-pleased with them.

In-room frequency response with Dirac correction up to 1KHz (no subs):

 

[amper42]

On the right is....the Revel F328Be, currently retails for US$8,800/each....which is >5x more expensive.

source

Do I win a prize?

You are absolutely correct! Congratulations.

 

[Highvolt60]

Plots match up well with Anechoic data from NRC (at least from 200Hz up).
https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/i...&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

I'll stick with my Arendal 1723 towers !

 

[amirm]

@amirm, thanks for the review! By any chance you have the speaker impedance plot?

Oops. Thought there was something missing. Review updated.

 

[Vovgan]

First impression was, "man this thing sounds good and familiar!" I know, being a Revel speaker owner myself, that is to be expected but still, it was there.

I was sad that back in the day you did not have time to do the listening test for f208 (which I have four), but now I feel it should be safe to extrapolate your positive listening impressions of f206 to f208

Owners of 206/208: do you use the tweeter volume dial at the back to reduce the highs? For me after bass management or even in pure direct mode on Denon AVR they are too bright and I dial down the tweeter by one click.

 

[Steve Dallas]

I was sad that back in the day you did not have time to do the listening test for f208 (which I have four), but now I feel it should be safe to extrapolate your positive listening impressions of f206 to f208

Owners of 206/208: do you use the tweeter volume dial at the back to reduce the highs? For me after bass management they are too bright and I dial down the tweeter by one click.

The 206 does not have that option, so... no.

 

[tktran303]

The power of towers! Let the real reviews begin!

 

[sweetchaos]

Last 3 speakers reviews were EPIC!


Revel F206 Tower
Ascend Sierra-1 V2 Bookshelf
KEF R11 Meta Tower

Keep them coming!

 

[JSmith]

The power of towers!

Agree, it's great to see more tower speakers tested on the Klippel NFS.


JSmith

 

[dtaylo1066]

In the last year of the Rocky Mountain Audio Fest I heard a Revel tower played through Mark Levinson amp and DAC. I must say they were among the best sounding speakers at the show, IMHO. Thus I am not surprised by this review. Those Revels I believe had the ceramic SB Acoustic mid-woofers, and three or four per side, with one tweeter on top. I am not sure if they were a three way or a 2.5, but sound was impeccable.

 

[CapMan]

Now available for £1490 a pair in the UK on sale - that is crazy value for money. I should have waited a few months!

 

[amirm]

Good to hear you can get them in UK.

 

[fritobugger]

I was sad that back in the day you did not have time to do the listening test for f208 (which I have four), but now I feel it should be safe to extrapolate your positive listening impressions of f206 to f208

Owners of 206/208: do you use the tweeter volume dial at the back to reduce the highs? For me after bass management or even in pure direct mode on Denon AVR they are too bright and I dial down the tweeter by one click.

I recently went from the F36 to the F208. I had the option to get the F206 but on paper their performance looked too similar to the F36 so I chose the F208. I was not in a position to audition them before purchase since they were floor models being sold at a very large discount.

I am loving the F208. They are quite similar to the F36 but better. More of the same but more and better, if that makes sense. The mids are a big area of improvement.

I am running them in the same position as the F36 which is near the back wall for both and near a side wall for one. This is in a fairly hard room. I keep the bass setting and tweeter setting at normal for both. I am not young so my hearing is not great above 15kHz so that may be why they don't seem bright but see no reason to turn the tweeters down. Also using a Denon AVR (X4200W) in Pure Direct for music and Audyssey adjusted for movies.

 

[MyCuriosity]

No matter how many times I auditioned any revel speaker I always have the same feeling. Boring and ugly but beauty is subjective.

 

[welwynnick]

Good to hear you can get them in UK.

My dream speakers are Salon 2 or Blades, but they'll have to wait a year or two.

The shop in question just happens to be within walking distance of me, and I'm planning to buy a pair tomorrow.

This was very timely - thanks Amir!

 

[dzerig]

Good, seems expensive at retail, but with current sale a very good deal. Focal 926 is similar and a little cheaper.

 

[Bleib]

Now available for £1490 a pair in the UK on sale - that is crazy value for money. I should have waited a few months!

Too bad UK left EU, haven't bought a thing from there since it happened.

 

[thewas]

Too bad UK left EU, haven't bought a thing from there since it happened.

Yes, for that price I would buy a pair immediately, even I don't really need another pair of loudspeakers.

 

[fritobugger]

Good, seems expensive at retail, but with current sale a very good deal. Focal 926 is similar and a little cheaper.

I like Focal but I've heard the 926 and if the F206 is anywhere near my F208, then the F206 would sound better to me.

 

[DanielT]

Thanks for the test Amir. Nice to read about a good speaker. Relaxing compared to, well you know what crikus is now going on with another manufacturer. That kind of thing can suck the juice out of you.

Revel F206 Tower Speaker is absolutely a good speaker BUT in Europe it is quite expensive. As an alternative, I would rather consider this floor speaker:

Monitor Audio Silver 500 7g

Nice measurements today from Soundstage hifi…someone get Amir the 100 7g https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2685:nrc-measurements-monitor-audio-silver-500-7g-loudspeakers&catid=77:loudspeaker-measurements&Itemid=153

audiosciencereview.com

Now available for £1490 a pair in the UK on sale - that is crazy value for money. I should have waited a few months!

Damn what a good price. In Sweden, a pair costs $4300